For the Love of a China Doll
by Blue-EyedDisaster
Summary: As Miley Stewart struggles to break free from an abusive relationship, she swears she'll never love again. But what happens when her best friend's kindhearted brother-in-law enters the picture? Already on the verge of breaking, can she risk falling in love again? NILEY.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, guys. So, this is a story that my friend Danielle (a HUGE Hannah Montana fan) asked me to do a few weeks ago. Her sister lived through domestic abuse for several years, and was kind of the inspiration for this story. But at the same time, it is a love story, so we'll see how well I can intertwine the two. I also probably will not be updating this one as often as my Secret Life one, unless it draws a good bit of interest. But if you guys are interested, I would be more than happy to get the next chapter out sooner rather than later. **

* * *

Hopeless screams pierced the summer air. A tear slid down the cheek of six-year-old Belle. He thought that she couldn't hear. That's why he sent her out on the back porch. Shortly after, she would always hear her mommy screaming. It scared her. He scared her. And then, her mommy would eventually come outside and get her. She would say that everything was fine. Belle knew otherwise. She saw the patches of purple and blue that weren't supposed to be ingrained into her mother's skin. Why does he want to hurt her? Her mommy was the most caring person in the whole world.

Another desperate scream made it's way to her ears. "Jake, please! I'm sorry!", she could hear her mother cry out. A thud soon followed.

She wanted to cover her ears, but she knew that it probably wouldn't drown out her mother's cries. She wanted to know what was happening, but she was too frightened to look into the small opening of the window that wasn't covered by the curtain. She couldn't understand what her mommy ever did to deserve being hurt so much.

Belle would often ask her why daddy hurt her. She always said that he didn't, but instructed her to never say anything bad about her father. Belle wasn't stupid enough to do that anyway. He had never hurt her, but he had yelled at her a lot. Called her awful things. Her mommy would stand in front of her, trying desperately to stop him. It never worked. And it usually made him even angrier.

She looked up at the night sky. It was sprinkled with glittering stars. A faint smile crept up onto the child's face as her blue eyes picked up on one that was shooting across the sky. A shooting star.

She closed her eyes tightly. "I wish I had a new daddy", she whispered, terrified that her father might hear her. "One that won't hurt my mommy."

* * *

Miley was hunched over on the floor. She felt blood pouring from her nose. Her whole body ached. But at least, he was done for now. She forced herself to her feet, and grabbed a paper towel to wipe her nose. Belle. She had almost forgotten that her daughter was still outside. Quickly, she disposed of the paper towel, and made her way to the back porch. She winced every step of the way.

"Mommy!", Belle cried as she ran into her arms. The little girl was crying uncontrollably.

"Ssshh. It's okay, baby", Miley said weakly, stroking her daughter's long blond waves. "It's gonna be okay."

Truthfully, she doubted it. That was just what she told Belle. What she had to tell Belle to give her daughter any kind of hope. That little girl was everything to Miley. The only ray of sunshine that had been in her life for such a long time. She had alienated her friends, her family. They had all been right. Why hadn't she listened to them? She had fallen for Jake's act. And because of it, she had been living in an abusive relationship for the past eight years. One that she just wasn't sure she had the strength to get out of.

She had came close. But that was a long time ago. Back when she still had a little bit of fight left in her. The first time Jake hit her, she had walked out. But then, he begged for forgiveness, promising that it would never happen again. Eventually, he wore her down. Shortly after, she found herself in even deeper when she found out that she was pregnant. Then, the violence started up again when Miley refused to have an abortion. Her son was stillborn anyway. Another opportunity for her to leave. And she tried to. He reeled her back in. Another pregnancy occured, followed by a miscarriage.

She always knew that it was because she was being knocked around all the time. When the doctors questioned her about her bruises, she did the only thing she felt she could do. She lied. She could have told the truth. Jake could be in jail right now. Far away from her. But somehow, he convinced her to stay. Because of the complications from her last two pregnancies, the doctors had told her that it would be difficult for her to become pregnant again. That made her feel a twinge of relief. An innocent child wouldn't be brought into this awful situation. But then, by some miracle...or curse, she did get pregnant again. And somehow, by the grace of God, she made it through the pregnancy. Arabella Grace was born healthy.

Miley was thankful for her little girl. But she lived in fear for Belle's safety as well as her own. Now, she was responsible for protecting two people. Much to her relief, Jake didn't hit Belle. Though he did verbally abuse the child on a regular basis. Meanwhile, her own beatings continued to get worse. She felt so trapped. Like there wasn't any way out. She wanted to call her dad or Jackson or Lilly, and beg them to come save her. She had even picked up the phone a few times. But something always stopped her. Fear.

She eventually got Belle to go to sleep that night. But she was awake for hours. Her small body was sore. Every movement reminded her of what Jake did to her. She had to get out. She didn't deserve this. No matter what he said, there was no way that she could possibly deserve this. She picked up her shiny engagement ring up off the nightstand. Jake had given it to her after Belle was born, though she suspected that he never actually intended on marrying her. It would never go on her finger again. If it killed her, that ring would never go on her finger again.

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**Sooo, do you guys like it so far? This chapter was mostly just the backstory. Nick will probably be introduced into the story in the third chapter in case you guys are wondering.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, thanks so much for the reviews, guys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Now, here's the next chapter...**

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She was burning up. It had to be ninety degrees, and there she was wearing a long-sleeve wrap and jeans. Miley looked around the park at all the happy little families. She was happy to be able to get Belle out of that house. Thank goodness Jake had left to film some scenes for his latest movie. Unfortunately, they were only shooting the movie about half an hour away. She wasn't wearing the engagement ring. Though she was still trying to figure out what she was going to do. She watched her daughter swinging quietly by herself. Sometimes, Miley wondered if Belle's life would have been better if she had given her up for adoption like Jake had wanted.

She couldn't help but marvel at how no one had figured out that she was in serious trouble. And if they had, they certainly had remained silent. True, Jake wasn't as big of a deal as he used to be. And Hannah Montana had disappeared a long time ago. Seemingly from the face of the earth. But she found it hard to believe that not one paparazzi had questioned why she wore clothes that covered up her whole body in the middle of summer. Maybe no one wanted to believe that Jake Ryan was capable of hurting the woman that he supposedly loved. But he certainly was.

"Miley?", she heard a hesitant but familiar voice utter, disturbing her from her thoughts. She winced at the soft touch on her shoulder, and turned around. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Lilly?", she whispered, standing up. God, she had never been so happy to see her best friend in her life. She hadn't had any contact with Lilly in years. Jake had made sure of that. She looked older, more mature. But still the same somehow. She looked...happy. That was the only word that she could use to describe it.

Lilly excitedly wrapped her arms around her. Miley ignored the pain that coursed through her body with someone's touch. "I can't believe you're here!", Lilly exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"I know", she replied with a sad smile. She noticed the dark-haired man standing a bit behind Lilly. His hands were on the shoulders of a small boy. She looked at the man. "You must be Joe."

He nodded, extending his hand out to her. She reluctantly shook it. "And you must be Miley. Lilly's told me a lot about you."

Miley forced a smile. She barely knew the name of the man that Lilly married, much less anything about him. He certainly looked nice. And Lilly was wearing a tank top with denim cutoffs. Clearly, she had nothing to hide. She glanced at the little boy. He looked about Belle's age, maybe a little younger. He looked a lot like his dad, but she could see hints of Lilly, especially in his eyes.

"And what's your name, sweetie?", she asked, bending down to the child's level. The sudden change in movement hurt, but she tried not to let on.

"Myles", he answered shyly. Miley looked up at Lilly in surprise.

"After you", Lilly confirmed.

It touched Miley deeply to hear that Lilly named her child after her. If she ever had another daughter, she would name her after Lilly. That thought left her mind as quickly as it came. There would be no more children for her more than likely. Belle was declared a miracle child after all. Miley doubted that she would ever get a second miracle. Not that she needed another. Just another child for Jake to traumatize.

"So, you had a daughter, right?", Lilly spoke. "Where is she?"

"Oh, she's playing. Belle!", she called, her voice still hoarse from the previous night. Lilly couldn't help but suspect that something was wrong with Miley. She looked tired, depressed even. Lilly looked at Joe with a concerned expression on her face.

The little girl ran to her mother upon being called. Miley lovingly put her arm around her daughter, and looked at Lilly. "This is Arabella. But we call her Belle. Belle, this is Lilly. Mommy's best friend in the whole world."

Lilly smiled. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Belle. You are so pretty. Miley, she looks just like you."

And she certainly did. Other than her hair color, the little girl was practically a clone of her mother. Lilly couldn't help but think she would look just like Hannah Montana when she got older.

"Thank you", Belle said politely. "Mommy, can I go back to play now?"

Miley nodded. Myles looked up at Lilly. "Mommy, can I go play too?"

"That's fine with me. Uh...Joe, could you go with them?", Lilly asked, clearly wanting to talk to her best friend alone. They watched him lead the kids across the park.

"So, how are things with you and Jake?", Lilly wondered. "Things are still good?"

She wanted to tell her. God, she wanted to tell her. How many opportunities like this would she get?

"We're okay", Miley lied, her gaze shifting to her feet. "Things could be better, I guess."

That's when Lilly noticed how completely out of place Miley's outfit was. She could see her sweating. Her face had way more makeup than she used to wear. Something didn't seem right.

"Miley, why are you dressed like that?", she asked cautiously.

Miley didn't answer. Instead, she just stood there helplessly as tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't hold them back. Not anymore. She watched as Lilly slowly lifted up one of her sleeves to reveal just a small portion of the bruises. She looked away, not wanting to look Lilly in the eyes.

But she heard her gasp in horror. Lilly stared at the bruises in disbelief, her heart breaking for her friend. "Miley...did Jake do this?"

She nodded just a bit, still looking away. Lilly covered her mouth with her hand, not even knowing how to respond. She wanted to give her a huge hug, but she knew that it would probably hurt if she had bruises like that on the rest of her body too. She had never liked Jake. But she couldn't believe that he would do this to Miley.

"How long has this been going on?", she asked, softly but firmly. Miley looked hesitant to answer. "Miley, please tell me."

"Since before Belle was born."

"Oh my God!", Lilly breathed. "Why in the world are you still with him? Why didn't you tell someone? If I had known..."

"You couldn't have done anything, Lilly. No one could", Miley stated. "And as for why I'm still with him, I couldn't tell you. Because I don't know myself. You're the only person that I've told about this, so please keep it to yourself."

"And let him keep doing this to you?", she asked in disbelief. "No way! What about Belle? Does he do this to her too?"

She shook her head. "No. But he's awful to her, and I hate it. I just don't know what to do."

"You have to get away from him! I can't believe he's been doing this to you for all this time! Why didn't you tell someone? Me, your dad, Jackson, Oliver...we would've helped you!"

"I don't know", Miley said quietly. "I'm just so scared. If I try to leave, he could try to take Belle. And I can't let that happen."

"Come with me", Lilly instructed, lightly placing her hand on her friend's back.

"Where?"

"I'm going to take you home", she replied. "You're going to get some things for you and Belle, and then you're coming home with us."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! **

**Anon- You made a very good point, and things will end up being more complicated than they appear right now. It wouldn't be very realistic if they weren't. I totally agree with you there. **

**Now, on to the story...**

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Miley stepped into the doorway of the swanky house. Belle's hand was latched onto hers, almost as if she could sense that something big was happening. Lilly and Joe followed behind them with Myles. Miley glanced around the house that she had lived in for the past eight years. It was beautiful. High ceilings, marble countertops, a backyard that most people would die for. But to her, it had felt more like a prison. She couldn't believe that she was actually leaving for good. She had wanted to many times before, but the fact that her best friend was behind her now made such a big difference. She wasn't alone anymore.

Lilly had discussed the idea of her temporarily staying with them with Joe who, much to Miley's surprise, was fine with it. She had never really realized how much she missed Lilly until now. And even though so many years had passed, it was like nothing had changed as far as their friendship went. She felt so lucky to have her best friend back. And she hoped that the extra support would give her enough strength to actually get out of this relationship that had slowly been sucking the life out of her.

"Mommy, what's going on?", Belle asked, looking up at her.

She sat down on the suede sofa, gently pulling her daughter onto her lap. "Baby, how would you feel if we went to live with Lilly and Joe and Myles for a little while?", she wondered, pointing Belle in their direction.

The little girl looked unsurely at them. She didn't really know them. All she knew was that they were nice to her and her mommy. And her mommy liked them. She decided that she liked them too.

"Is daddy coming?", she asked nervously.

Miley shook her head. "No, honey. Just you and me. What do you think?"

Belle gave her a hint of a smile. "Can I bring Hannah?"

"Who's Hannah?", Lilly inquired curiously, recognizing the name of her best friend's former alter ego.

"My doll. She's really pretty. Mommy got her for my birthday."

"Well, you can absolutely bring her", Lilly said, smiling at the little girl.

"Tell you what? Why don't you go get a garbage bag from the kitchen, and put some of your favorite toys in it?", Miley suggested. "But don't put Hannah in it yet. We don't want her to get broken."

"Why don't you go help her, bud?", Lilly implored to her son. They watched the two kids leave the room.

"Is there anything that I can do?", Joe asked. He wanted to help, but he wasn't really sure what he could do. "Any heavy stuff, maybe?"

Miley shook her head. "No, I don't think so. The only things that I want are Belle's toys, our clothes, and my photo albums. I'm not gonna fight Jake over anything else. It's just not worth it."

"You could go clean out the guest room", Lilly pointed out. "It's kind of cluttered in there right now."

"I'm on it."

Soon after, Miley stood in the giant walk-in closet, throwing clothes into a box. Lilly busied herself with Miley's giant collection of photo albums. She flipped through one every now and then. Some of them went way back to when they were just kids. She wished that she had some of these pictures. Miley looked so happy, carefree even. But as the pictures got more recent, it started to look like Miley's smile was becoming more and more forced. Like it was a facade meant to fool everyone who looked at her. It didn't fool Lilly.

There would be a genuine smile every now and then. There was one of Miley beaming as she held a pink bundle in her arms. It was obviously in a hospital room. She assumed that was the day Belle was born. Lilly had looked similar when she had Myles. But those smiles were few and far in between. She only wished that she had known about this sooner. Maybe Miley wouldn't have had to go through so many years of misery.

"That's my favorite picture." Lilly looked up to see Miley standing over her. She sat down next to her friend. "I remember the relief I felt when I first heard her cry. I tried to stay kind of detached when I was pregnant, but I couldn't help but love her. Even though I knew she probably wouldn't make it."

"Why didn't you think she would make it?", Lilly wondered.

"I lost two babies before her."

Lilly felt so sorry for Miley. How much could one person possibly go through? "Oh my God. Miley, I'm so sorry. That must've been awful."

Miley nodded. "It was. The second one was an early miscarriage. That was hard enough, but it almost killed me when I lost Ethan."

"Ethan?", Lilly said softly. "You already had a name picked out."

"Yeah. Ethan Robert. I uh...", she trailed off, unsure if she wanted to tell the story or not. She decided to continue. "I went into premature labor after Jake...he got angry with me one night...more angry than ususal."

"Oh, Miley..."

"Ethan wasn't due for almost three more months. The doctors couldn't stop the labor, and he...he didn't make it."

"I'm so sorry", Lilly said quietly.

"It's okay", Miley said, forcing a faint smile. She stood up. "We should get this stuff to the car. I want to be out of here when Jake comes back."

"Right." Lilly picked up a box, and headed out of the room with it.

Miley took one last glance around the house. And then, she flipped the lights out for the final time.

* * *

Joe was stashing some of his wife's things in the hall closet when he heard the doorbell ring. He opened it to reveal his brother.

"Hey, bro", Nick smiled as he closed the door behind him. "What's up?"

"Hey, thanks for coming, man. You know that twin bed that we've had in the attic?" Nick nodded. "Well, I need help getting it downstairs."

"Okay. Uh, can I ask why?"

"Lilly's best friend is coming to stay with us for a little while", Joe replied. "She's coming out of a bad situation. Abusive boyfriend. It's pretty sad."

Nick's features softened, and he instantly felt sorrow for a girl that he had never met. "You know, I don't understand how anyone can hurt an innocent woman for no reason. She's better off without him."

"I have a feeling that this isn't the kind of guy that she's going to be able to just walk away from. This has been going on for years, man. But anyway, we're gonna help any way we can. We don't have a whole lot of extra room, but I don't like the idea of the little girl sleeping in the attic, so we need to move the bed."

"Little girl?"

Joe nodded. "Yeah, she's got a daughter. Cute kid. About Myles' age."

After they had gotten the bed put back together in the sunroom that was rarely used, Nick took a seat next to his brother on the sofa. "You know, I think it's pretty awesome what you and Lilly are doing for this girl."

His brother shrugged. "She's Lilly's best friend. And she's going through a tough time. Lilly said that her family hasn't even been part of her life since she got back with the boyfriend."

"That's sad."

"Joe!", they heard Lilly's voice call. She appeared in the living room. "Oh, hi, Nick. Joe, can you help us get some of this stuff out of the car?"

"Yeah."

Nick smiled as he caught sight of his brother's little boy. "Uncle Nick!", Myles said excitedly, running to hug him.

"Hey, buddy. How's my favorite nephew?"

"Good."

Then, he saw a pretty little girl with blond hair and big blue eyes. Probably the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. She stood a little back from them, looking at him with curiousity and caution.

"Hey, sweetie", he said gently to the child. "What's your name?"

"Belle", she said shyly.

He held his hand out to the little girl. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Belle. My name's Nick."

He heard the door close, and Joe walked into the room loaded down with bags. Lilly followed behind him. And then he saw her. Wavy brown locks that fell loosely down her back. The same startling, wide blue eyes as the little girl. She had a look of nervousness about her. Of course, she did. She had been abused. He almost felt guilty that he knew something so personal about her. Suddenly, he felt this intense hatred for the creep that had hurt her. How any man could lift their hand up to such a frail, beautiful creature was beyond his understanding.

Miley glanced around her friend's house. It was nice. Not the kind of nice that she was used to where she was terrified of spilling something on the floor or tracking mud in after a rainstorm. This house gave off a cozy vibe. Wood floors reached as far as she could see. A warm fireplace was the focal point of the living room. There weren't twelve-foot-tall ceilings or giant Victorian windows. But it felt more like a home than that mansion on a hill ever did.

"Hi", she heard a soft voice speak. She turned, and looked into a pair of warm brown eyes. He gave her a small smile. "My name is Nick. I'm Joe's brother."

She managed to smile back, though she knew that this stranger probably knew all about why she was here. And that knowledge just made her feel ashamed. She searched his eyes for some kind of judgment, but she didn't detect any. Only a sincere kindness.

Slowly, she extended her hand out to him. "My name's Miley."

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**Please let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Wow, thanks so much for all the reviews! I got the most reviews on the last chapter that I've ever gotten on one chapter before, and that made me soooo happy. I hope you guys keep it up! Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you like!**

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Miley awoke to the sound of thunder. She kept her eyes clamped shut, but the flashes of lightning continued to penetrate her eyelids. She could hear the raindrops madly hitting the patio outside of the guest room. Eventually, she gave up her attempt at sleep. She sat up in the bed, positioning her back against the headboard. It hurt a little, but she didn't care enough to move. She could see her phone light up a few feet away on the wooden nightstand. She didn't have to look at it. She knew it was Jake. When she did eventually look at her phone, she knew that she would have a dozen voicemails and text messages demanding to know where she was.

She hugged her knees against her chest, and looked back toward the window. The sound of rain was nice. She could do without the thunder and lightning, but she liked the rain. It calmed her. It was still strange to be sleeping in this new bed in this new house. But it gave her hope at the same time. Maybe now, she could have a real life. She could get a real job. Have real friends again. But it hurt her to know that she would never be able to love someone again. She was damaged, far too damaged for anyone to want. If she ever got into a new relationship, it would have to move at the speed of a tortoise. No guy would want that.

But it was probably for the best. What if she just wound up with a guy like Jake again? She couldn't take that chance. She didn't trust herself to take that chance. She was too messed up. Seriously, what kind of girl stays with a guy that repeatedly hurts her? What kind of mother stays with a guy that clearly resents her child? When she thought about everything that Belle had been through because of Jake, she loathed herself. Because she had let him do it.

"Mommy?"

Miley turned to see her daughter standing where the moonlight was hitting the door. "Hey, baby. You couldn't sleep either?"

Belle shook her head. "Can I sleep with you? Just for tonight?"

She smiled a bit. "I guess. Just for tonight."

Her daughter climbed up onto the bed, and wrapped her arms around her. "I love you, mommy."

"I love you too, baby girl." She paused for a moment. "Do you think you're gonna like living here for a little while? I know it's a lot different from what we're used to."

"I think. Aunt Lilly and Uncle Joe are really nice. They said I could call them that", Belle added. "And Myles is nice too. But I like Nick the best."

"Nick", Miley mused, remembering his warm eyes. The way he had smiled at her. The way he spoke with such softness in his voice. Like he was afraid that even too much sound could hurt her. Yes, she supposed she liked him too.

* * *

The sun rose, but Miley didn't pry herself from the bed until almost ten o' clock. She must have looked awful as she made her way into the kitchen. Her hair was piled up on top of her head in a messy bun. She was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a soft bathrobe that covered her baggy T-shirt. But for the first time in a long time, she didn't feel that she had to impress anyone. And that felt good.

"Good morning", she said in an almost-cheerful manner.

"Hey", Lilly smiled. "How did you sleep?"

"Good, except for the thunderstorm that was going on last night", she replied. She strained her neck to see behind the wall into the living room. "Do you know where Belle is?"

"Oh, yeah. She's in the backyard with Myles and Joe. I think she really likes Bessie."

"Who's Bessie?"

"Our yellow lab. We've had her since before Myles was born", Lilly informed her. "She's a sweet old dog."

Miley forced a hint of a smile. "Belle always wanted a pet. But Jake never wanted to deal with one."

Lilly's face took on a much more serious expression. "Have you heard anything from him yet?"

She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her robe, and set it down on the counter. "I'm sure he's left plenty of messages, but I don't really want to hear them. Do you think you could listen to them for me?"

Lilly grimaced at the thought, but she supposed she could handle Jake's yelling better than Miley could at the moment. She picked up the phone, and held it up to her ear. Several minutes later, she placed it back onto the counter.

"Well?", Miley prompted. "How bad was it?"

"Pretty bad", she admitted. It was actually worse than pretty bad. She was worried for Miley. No, worried didn't cover it. She was afraid for Miley.

"I'm gonna have to talk to him at some point", Miley sighed. "He'll wind up calling the police and Lord knows what else if I don't."

"I guess you're right", Lilly conceded. "But there's no way that you're going by yourself. Me and Joe are going with you."

"Thank you, Lilly", she said softly. She felt so lucky to be here with her best friend. She was truly being given a second chance. With trembling fingers, she typed a text message. _Meet me_...she paused before deciding the more public this meeting was, the better..._in the Wal-Mart parking lot in one hour. The one on the east side of town. _

Lilly snorted, glancing over the counter to read the text message. "Has Jake ever even been to a Wal-Mart?

* * *

Miley walked back into the living room after getting dressed. She wore a violet cardigan over a white tank top. At least, the rain had cooled things off a bit. But she longed for the day that she could wear normal clothes again.

The doorbell rang. She looked around before realizing there was no one else in the room. With a bit of nervousness, she opened it. An involuntary smile crept onto her face as her blue eyes locked with his brown ones. "Nick. Hi", she said softly.

"Hey", he uttered, though her presence had almost taken his breath away. He wasn't sure why. He knew that she would be there. But God, she was beautiful. It took him a second to realize that he was just standing there staring at her. "Oh, Joe asked me to come babysit. I'm kind of the go-to-guy for that kind of thing", he explained.

"Right", she smiled, closing the door after he had walked inside. "So, do you have kids?"

"Oh, no", he answered quickly. "Just a great little nephew."

"I can tell he really likes you. My daughter does too", she informed him.

"Well, I like her too. She's a great kid. She's obviously got a really great mom", Nick said, admiration clear in his voice. He barely knew this girl, and yet he found himself completely entranced by her. Her beauty, her strength, the way she loved her daughter more than anything in the world. He could tell from the way Belle had talked about Miley that she was an amazing person.

"Thanks for coming, Nick", Lilly said as she walked into the room. Joe followed her. She looked as nervous about the meeting as Miley felt.

"Oh, it's no problem."

Ordinarily, Miley would've been nervous to leave Belle alone with someone that she didn't really know. But Nick's demeanor put any fears that she may have had to rest. She had seen him with her and Myles yesterday. How kind and attentive he was to them. Lilly obviously thought very highly of him too. It gave Miley hope that maybe there were a few good guys left in the world.

* * *

She wiped the sweat from her palms. She really didn't want to do this. But at least, Lilly and Joe were with her for back-up. And they were in a public place. He couldn't really do anything to her. Still, she was sure it would be awful.

Her heart sank as she caught sight of the firetruck red Porsche. This was it. "That's him", she croaked.

"I figured", Lilly remarked. Joe steered the truck in that direction, and Miley reluctantly stepped out. Jake had already gotten out, and was leaning against the hood of his car. His expression said it all as he walked over to her. Lilly stood with Miley. Joe would stay in the truck unless things started to get out of hand.

Upon catching sight of Lilly, Jake's expression morphed into one of confusion. "Miley, where have you been?", he demanded, careful not to sound too angry in front of Lilly. "I've been worried sick about you."

"Nice to see you too, Jake", Lilly said with sarcasm. "And she's been with me."

"Lilly, I got this", Miley said calmly. But as she turned back to Jake, she began to feel nervous again. "I uh...I'm leaving."

"You're leaving", he repeated with amusement. "And where do you plan on going?"

"I'm going to stay at Lilly's for a while", she said, glancing at her best friend. "We're over."

Those two words came out like a quiet afterthought, but at least she had been able to say them. She tried to judge Jake's reaction. He shook his head in one of those "this-again?" ways, probably not thinking she was serious. Then again, how many times had she said those words before, and then take him back just a few weeks later?

"Lilly, could I have a second alone with my fiancee?", Jake asked in an annoyed tone.

"No", the blonde said stubbornly. "I know everything, Jake. I'm not about to leave Miley alone with you."

He gave Miley a glare that sent chills down her spine. "Oh, do you?"

"Please just let me go", Miley said quietly, practically begging him. "You can keep the house, and the cars, and I won't make you pay child support or anything. Just please don't make this hard on me."

"This is what you want? Fine. But you'll come running back. You always do."

He turned, and began to walk back to his car. Lilly gave her friend a relieved smile. "Wow, that wasn't as bad as I expected."

"I know", Miley agreed, still watching Jake with suspicion. "It's never been that easy. And that's what worries me."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! I really appreciate them! Here's the next chapter, and I hope you guys like it. **

* * *

The next few days passed with relative ease for Miley. She and Belle had now been living with Lilly and her family for a week. It was unusual for her to feel so safe and comfortable as she was starting to. For the first time in years, she felt like she was part of a real family. She hadn't heard from Jake since the day that she officially broke things off. She was keeping her fingers crossed that it would stay that way. She had already begun searching for a job, as she knew that she couldn't keep staying with Lilly and Joe without helping with bills and such. There had been no luck so far.

She was surfing the Web looking for potential employers when Lilly sat down on the sofa beside her. "Nothing yet?", she asked.

Miley shook her head. "Maybe I should just give my story to the tabloids. I mean, I know people have pretty much forgotten about Hannah, but that's got to bring in some money. Right?"

"Miley, it's okay", Lilly assured her. "We're not poor. When you find a job, you find one. We'll be okay until then."

She closed the laptop in frustration. "I just don't want you guys to feel like I'm taking advantage of you. You took me and my daughter in, Lilly. That means so much to me."

"Hey, that's what friends do. I know, if the situation was reversed, you would be happy to do the same for me."

"Maybe I should go after the house", Miley mused. "There has to be a million dollars of Hannah money tied into it. Especially when you add the cars and the pool..."

"We both know it would be a bad idea to do that", Lilly warned. "You've got Jake off your back, at least for now. No amount of money is worth what you could go through if he gets angry enough."

"You're probably right", she conceded as Myles and Belle came running into the room with Nick following behind them.

"Hey, did you guys have fun?", Lilly wondered, making her way to them. She noted the giant stain on Myles' new shirt, and gave Nick a disapproving look. "A little too much fun?"

Nick shrugged innocently. "They wanted ice cream."

"You are such a pushover", Lilly said in a joking manner. She grabbed her son's hand. "Come on, baby. Lets get you a clean shirt."

Miley stood up, and smiled at Nick. "Well, I think it was sweet. Hold on a second. I'll pay you back for Belle's", she said, turning to go get her purse.

"Hey, don't even worry about it", Nick said, waving his hand. "I got to spend the afternoon with two awesome kids. That's pay enough."

She didn't know what to say. Guys weren't supposed to be this nice. At least, not in her experience. "Well, I appreciate it", she said sincerely.

"Mommy, we had so much fun!", Belle excitedly informed her. "We went to the zoo, and I got to see a zebra!"

"That sounds fun, baby. I'm glad you had a good time."

"Can I go play with Bessie?", she asked, eyeing the back door.

"I guess so." With her mother's permission, the little girl bolted to the back door. "Don't stay out too long! I don't want you to get sunburned!", Miley called after her.

She turned to Nick, smiling a bit. "Well, at least, she'll be ready to go to sleep tonight. I uh...I should thank you for spending time with her and everything. It really does mean a lot to her...and me."

"You don't have to thank me for that", Nick replied.

"Actually, I kind of do. You and Joe have shown her more attention in the last week than Jake has shown her in months. I guess I don't exactly have the best taste in guys", she sighed.

He wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault that her ex was a first-class jerk. That she did not do a single thing wrong. That she deserved so much better. And God knows he would love to be the one who showed her that she was worthy of being loved. But she was still healing. And honestly, he didn't know if she would ever be interested in being in another relationship. No matter how attracted to her he was.

"You know what I think?", he uttered. She looked at him attentively. "I think that you're being too hard on yourself. You were in an impossible situation, Miley."

She could feel her eyes becoming wet, tears threatening to fall. "I hated it", she said quietly. "I hated feeling trapped, like I didn't have any way to get out. I hated him for everything that he did to me. But I think I hated myself the most because I wasn't strong enough to walk away."

Nick looked a bit stunned that Miley opened up to him like that. She almost wished that she hadn't. She hadn't even really opened up to Lilly about some of this stuff. Lilly knew the basics, but not really how she was feeling through it all. It felt good to let it out.

"There's a lot to you, isn't there?", he said softly, desperately wanting to see her pain go away.

"My life has always been pretty complicated", she responded, wiping the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to burden you or anything."

"Hey, you can burden me anytime you want. And if you want, I would really like to be there for you. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on or just somebody to talk to, I want you to know that I'm available."

She gave him a grateful smile. He seemed entirely too good to be true. Kind, caring...the polar opposite of what she was used to. "How exactly are you single?", she asked, half-joking. "You're pretty much the perfect guy."

"Maybe I just haven't met the right girl yet."

"Mommy!" The sound of her daughter's upset voice sent Miley running to the back door, where Belle had just came in.

"What is it, baby?", she asked with concern.

"I hurt my knee", the little girl replied, pointing to the cut.

"Aw, let's see if we can't find a Band-Aid", she said, disappearing into the kitchen. "We'll get you fixed up in no time."

Nick smiled thoughtfully to himself. "Or maybe I have. Maybe she could be the one."

* * *

He wound up staying over for dinner that night. The small oak table sat six, just big enough for all of them. Of course, Myles and Belle both wanted to sit by him, so he was positioned in between them, and directly across from Miley, who was at the other end. Most of the conversation consisted of Joe and Nick discussing work-related stuff. Then, the topic shifted to where they wanted to go on vacation next smmer. Apparently, this summer's vacation had already been planned. A week at Disney World.

Belle seemed very excited by the idea of going to Disney World, making Miley uncomfortable. They hadn't asked her to go, after all. Belle, being a little kid, just kind of assumed that they were included in these plans. But everyone was acting like they were included, which confused Miley. Disney World wasn't cheap, and two extras could really inflate the price tag. Lilly and Joe assured her that it would be fine.

"It's not like we're staying in a five-star hotel or anything", Lilly pointed out. "And we were going to pay for two rooms anyway. But this way, we can split it up to where it's the guys in one room and the girls in the other. It works out good."

"Still...", Miley protested. "Guys, that's really too much. I mean, I don't know when I'll be able to pay you back for all of this. I can just stay here. Somebody needs to watch the house anyway, right?"

"My mom's doing that", Lilly countered. "Miley, we're not leaving you and Belle here by yourself for a whole week."

"Besides, we want you to come", Nick pointed out.

"Can we please go to Disney World, mommy? Please!", Belle begged.

She looked around at everyone, each person's expression urging her to say yes. "I...I guess so", she relented. She still wasn't comfortable with the idea, but she would pay them back...eventually. "So, when is this vacation?"

"Two weeks", Lilly smiled. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't wait."

"Me either!", Myles chimed in.

Joe laughed, wiping his hands on a paper towel. He looked at Lilly. "Well, that was great, babe."

She gave him a playful smirk. "And you said I couldn't cook."

"Oh, mommy can cook good pizza", Myles stated. "She just doesn't know how to cook much else."

Nick and Miley laughed simultaneously at the little boy's bluntness. "You gotta give me a high-five for that one, dude", Nick grinned.

"Haha, you're all so funny", Lilly remarked as she stood up to pick up everyone's plates.

"Wait, Lilly, let me do the dishes tonight", Miley implored, standing up also. "You made dinner, so it's the least I can do."

Lilly looked a bit surprised. "Um, okay."

"Here, I'll help you", Nick offered, grabbing the kids' plates and his own. He followed Miley into the kitchen.

Lilly watched the kids scamper off to the living room, and then turned to Joe. "I think your brother has a thing for my best friend."

Joe looked a bit caught off guard. "What makes you say that?"

She pointed to the next room. "He offered to do dishes. Guys never do that. You never did that."

"Hey!", he exclaimed, a bit offended. "I pay the bills, mow the grass, and I cook more than the majority of husbands do. I think it's a fair trade."

"Joe, you're missing the point, babe", Lilly sighed. "This is about Nick and Miley. I wasn't complaining about you not doing the dishes."

"Come on, Lilly. Nick's a nice guy. Just because he offered to help her do the dishes doesn't mean that he likes her."

She rolled her eyes knowingly. "If you say so..."

* * *

**Sooo? Did you like it? Please let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks sooo much for the reviews, guys! Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

It was early. Too early. The sun hadn't even risen yet. Miley was helping Joe and Lilly stuff luggage into the back of their SUV. They had a plane to catch in two hours. They had considered making it a road trip, but the thought of two restless kids who would want to stop at every gas station every five minutes changed their minds. They had woken up the kids fifteen minutes ago, but they had both zonked back out on the sofa.

Nick pulled up in the driveway, and got out of the car carrying a white box. "Who wants breakfast?", he called playfully.

"Thank God. I'm starving!", Lilly said, taking the box from him. "Please tell me these are donuts."

"Of course", he replied. He heard the trunk of the SUV shut, and looked that way. Miley gave him a warm smile. He made his way to her. She looked absolutely stunning. She was wearing denim cutoffs just like Lilly, and a loose, white top that hung off one of her shoulders. There wasn't a single remnant of purple or that dull blue left on her skin. She was perfect.

"Miley...you look beautiful", he breathed.

"You really think so?", she asked nervously. "I mean, I can't remember the last time I wore something like this. It makes me kind of nervous."

And it did. She was excited to get to be able to wear this kind of thing again, now that her bruises had faded away. But it made her feel exposed at the same time. Vulnerable, even. She had considered changing, but Lilly had convinced her that there was no need to. It did make her feel good that Nick thought that she was beautiful. Especially when she knew he was being sincere.

"Well, you have absolutely no reason to be", Nick said softly.

"I uh...I should probably wake the kids up...again", she remarked, looking back at the house. "They're both hard to wake up. I could use some help."

"Yeah, definitely."

After a few minutes of prodding, they were able to get Myles up and to his feet long enough to get to the car. No such luck with Belle. Nick ended up carrying her to the car. And after they boarded the plane, Miley decided to rest her own eyes.

* * *

The plane touched down in Florida several hours later. At this point, the kids were wide awake, and hyper as ever. But all the adults felt like they could use some coffee. They wasted no time checking into the hotel. Miley liked it. It was nice. Not like the hotels she used to stay at as Hannah, but it certainly wasn't shabby. They had gotten two rooms that were right across the hall from each other. The plan was to take a short nap, and then go explore. The kids were having none of it, so they settled with some coffee from the hotel lobby.

As they sat at the little table drinking their coffee, Joe held up a giant map in front of him, trying to figure out where they were going. He had been looking at it for the past ten minutes. Lilly eventually got annoyed, and snatched it from him.

"Hey!"

"Babe, we're never going to get out of here with you in charge of directions", she pointed out. She stared at it for a few seconds, and then pointed to a street on the map. "Okay, we're going to make a left here, and then keep going straight until..."

"No way!", Joe protested. "You're just trying to make me look bad!"

Lilly sighed, and put her hand on her husband's shoulder. "Yes, honey. That's what it is."

"Mommy, when can we go?", Myles asked impatiently. He and Belle were getting restless sitting in the lobby with nothing to do.

"Yeah, I guess we're ready."

"Alright, kids", Joe uttered, taking the hands of the two kids. "Lets go have some fun."

* * *

The wind blew gently through Miley's hair. It felt good. Lilly had her head tilted backwards, laughing at something that Joe had said. The kids were obviously having the best time, throwing their hands up in the air as the ride turned. Miley smiled at their overjoyed faces, such innocence in their eyes. They were having the time of their lives. She remembered her first trip to Disney World as a kid. It had been absolutely amazing. She was glad Belle was getting this experience too.

She felt a bit woozy as they got off the ride. In the crowd of people, her foot got tangled with someone else's, causing her to lose her balance. Just as she began to brace herself for the concrete, she felt a pair of arms grab her around her waist, allowing her to catch her balance. "Whoa. You okay?"

She recognized the voice instantly as Nick's, and smiled as she turned to face him. "Yeah. I'm just a clutz", she said, waving her hand. "But thanks for not letting me embarrass myself in front of all these people."

He smiled back. "Don't mention it."

They just stared at each other for a moment until the others circled in around them. "Guys, I don't know about you, but I'm starving", Joe remarked.

"Me too", Nick agreed, his eyes not leaving Miley's. "Maybe we should go eat."

"Okay", Miley said softly.

They decided to leave the rides alone for the rest of the day, and found a cute little restaurant to dine at. It was one of those kid-themed places that Myles and Belle absolutely loved. Bright and colorful. But to the adults, it seemed more like a glorified Chuck E. Cheese's.

"This...this is disgusting", Lilly remarked, putting down her piece of pizza. "Why did we come here again?"

"Because the kids wanted to", Joe reminded her, motioning to the little arcade area that was keeping them entertained as they had finished eating within five minutes of getting their food.

She shook her head. "I can't believe we're letting a couple of six-year-olds boss us around. We are NOT coming here again."

Miley giggled. "I would agree with that."

"Hey, why don't we go play some games?", Nick suggested. "It's not like we're going to eat any more of this sorry excuse for pizza."

Joe shrugged. "Yeah, why not? I haven't gotten to beat my wife at air hockey in a while."

Lilly gave him a playful shove. "Oh, you are so on!"

As they ran off like little kids to the air hockey table, Miley and Nick wandered to the Skee Ball game. She quickly figured out that Nick knew what he was doing as he killed her score every time.

"You're really good", she said in admiration as he hit the top center target again.

He smiled. "Well, this used to be my favorite game when I was a kid. I can show you my secret if you want."

Miley laughed. "You have a secret? Yes, please show me."

Nick took the next white ball out of the slot, and held it up. "Okay, watch the master carefully", he said in a joking manner.

"Oh, of course."

He released it, and once again, it landed in the 5,000 point slot. He handed the next one to her. "Now, you try."

She tried to copy his motion, and released the ball. It barely made it into the lowest hole. "Ah, I give up", she uttered. "I should just stick to Pinball."

"Oh, come on. One more try", he implored. "Here, I'll help you."

Slowly, Nick held his arm behind hers. She was stunned to realize that her heart was beating faster with him so close to her. It made her nervous. But at the same time, it made her feel...happy? His arm moved with hers, and she released the ball. It landed in the top slot.

* * *

After they arrived back at the hotel, Lilly sat on the bed Indian-style watcing the local news. She was exhausted. The next day would probably be even more tiring. She looked over to the other bed where Belle was fast asleep, already rolled up in the covers. She was beginning to think all kids did that. She giggled a bit to herself. If Belle was anything like Myles, Miley might as well call down to the desk for some more blankets now.

_And you throw your head back laughin' like a little kid_

_I think it's strange that you think I'm funny cuz he never did_

Now that the water in the shower wasn't running, she could hear Miley's voice singing even louder than before when it was more muffled. Her voice was as amazing as ever.

_I've been spending the last eight months thinking all love ever does_

_Is break, and burn, and end_

_But on a Wednesday in a cafe, I watched it begin again_

Miley was still humming when she walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair out with a towel. She noticed Lilly giving her a weird look. "What?"

Lilly shook her head. "Nothing. You just sound really...I don't know...happy."

"Maybe I'm close to getting there." She looked at Belle, who was fast asleep already. "I'm never going to get her out of those sheets."

"Nope, probably not", Lilly agreed as Miley sat down on the bed next to her. There was a brief silence before Lilly turned to her. "Miley, I'm really glad you're here. I really missed you."

Miley gave her a soft smile. "I really missed you too, Lilly."

As the best friends shared a hug, Miley almost felt like they were kids again. Still so youthful and full of life. The future, all of a sudden, began to look brighter to her than ever before. And for the first time in as long as she could remember, she found herself looking forward to the next day.

* * *

"Your son is out like a light", Nick announced as his brother walked out of the bathroom.

"Oh, I'm sure he is", Joe laughed. "As soon as my head hits that pillow, I'll be out like a light too. It was a fun day though."

Nick nodded. "Yeah." He paused for a moment before looking up at his brother. "Joe, can I ask your opinion on something?"

"Uh...sure", his brother replied with a hint of caution in his voice. Nick sounded pretty serious, and Joe wasn't sure he would like where this was going.

"What do you think about Miley?"

And there it was. That was just great. Nick did have a thing for Miley. And he was going to have to listen to Lilly say I-told-you-so for the next week.

"Man, you like her, don't you?"

"I think so", Nick answered honestly. His brother didn't respond, so he continued. "I mean, she's an amazing person, right? I know that she's still dealing with stuff, and she wouldn't want to just jump into anything. I totally get that, and I respect that. But at the same time, I feel like I'm really going to regret it if I don't give this a chance."

Joe sighed, and sat down beside his brother. "Wow, I had no idea. Yeah, I mean, I think she's an awesome person too, but she's been hurt a lot. If you were to tell her how you feel, you got to know there's a chance that she'll go running for the hills."

"I know, and I don't want to hurt her or confuse her. But I like her, man. She's caring, and smart, and the most beautiful girl that I've ever met. And lately, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. So, yeah, it might be harder with her than other girls. But I think she's worth it."

Joe was stunned by everything that he was hearing. He hadn't even thought that Nick had a thing for Miley. But he obviously was really starting to care about her. This was his brother. Why didn't he notice this stuff?

"I think we should talk to Lilly about this", he said, grabbing his phone. "She would know what you need to do. I mean, she kind of already thinks you like Miley anyway."

Nick snatched the phone away from him. "No way! If we tell Lilly about this, she'll run straight to Miley with it!"

"I thought you wanted Miley to know you like her!"

"Daddy?"

Joe and Nick looked at Myles, who was staring at them with a sleepy look on his face. Joe sighed. "Yeah, buddy?"

"Can you and Uncle Nick please go to sleep?", he asked, snuggling into the covers. "You can tell Aunt Miley that Uncle Nick likes her tomorrow."

Nick's jaw dropped. He rushed over to his nephew, and shook him gently so he couldn't go back to sleep.

"Uncle Nick...", the little boy whined.

"Hey, buddy, you're not gonna tell Miley about any of this, right?" The last thing he needed was for Myles to just blurt it out in front of her. And the kid was certainly prone to doing stuff like that.

Myles rolled his eyes in a very Lilly-like fashion. "Sure..."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome! Now, here's the next chapter...**

* * *

The next morning came sooner than expected, and this time, it was the kids who were ready to get up. The parents...not so much.

"Mommy!", Belle repeated for the fifth time, shaking her mother in an attempt to wake her up.

"Huh? What is it, Belle?", Miley muttered, still not wanting to open her eyes.

"It's time to get up! You said we could go to the pool this morning."

Lilly sighed, sitting up in the other bed. "It's okay, Miley. I'll take her. Just let me throw some clothes on, sweetie."

"Thank you", Miley uttered, getting comfortable again.

"Mommy!" Lilly heard her son's voice combined with a rapping on the door. She was willing to bet that Joe and Nick didn't want to get up either.

She opened the door quickly. "Myles, get in here! You're going to be waking up half the hotel."

The little boy complied. As Lilly walked into the bathroom to get ready, he and Belle went to sit by the window that overlooked the pool.

"It's so pretty. I can't wait to go down there", she said excitedly.

"Me too", he agreed.

"My mommy was supposed to come, but I think she's too tired", Belle said, glancing at a sleeping Miley.

That's all it took for Myles to remember what his uncle had said the previous night. He thought it was cool that his Uncle Nick liked his Aunt Miley. But he had said he wouldn't tell. The little boy smiled. He had said he wouldn't tell _Miley_.

"Hey Belle, wanna know a secret?"

* * *

A few hours later, they were nearing the front of a line. They had been standing there for what seemed like forever. To have a picture taken with some sweaty guy in a Mickey Mouse costume. Not that they could tell the kids that. Miley sipped on a cup of lemonade as she listened to the others debate their favorite Disney villains. She wasn't exactly sure how this topic came up.

"Yeah, but I still think Ursula is the best", Lilly remarked to some comment Nick had made.

"She didn't scare anybody, Lilly", Joe pointed out. "How can you be a good villain if you can't even scare little kids?"

Miley sighed. "Why don't you guys settle this by asking actual kids?", she suggested, motioning to Belle and Myles who were giggling about something.

"Good idea", Nick grinned. He leaned down to the kids' level. "Hey, guys. Who do you think is the best Disney villain?"

"Plankton!", Myles replied enthusiastically.

"Spongebob's not Disney, bud", Lilly commented. She turned to the others. "Wow, I don't think there are any good villains for their generation. They're all such wusses now."

"Sad", Joe agreed.

"Hey, we're next!", Belle exclaimed. She and Myles ran ahead, and practically launched themselves at the guy in the Mickey Mouse suit.

After tearing the kids off of the poor guy, Lilly and Joe positioned themselves on one side with Myles and Miley stood behind Belle on the other side. Nick wasn't really sure what to do.

"Nick! Get in the picture, man!", Joe called.

Belle ran over to him, and looked up at him sweetly. Almost in a sneaky way. "You should come stand by me and mommy." She grabbed his hand, and led him over to Miley. They shared a small smile.

"Alright, are we ready?", the photographer asked.

"Yeah!", everyone yelled in unison.

"Okay...say Mickey!"

"Mickey!"

* * *

As they were waiting in line for lunch, Myles and Belle managed to get a few feet away from the adults.

"We gotta find a way to get them alone together", Myles said quietly, looking at Miley and Nick.

"How do we do that?", Belle whispered.

Joe appeared seemingly out of nowhere, causing them both to jump. "What are you two being all sneaky about?" Neither of them responded. "Uh-huh. See, I notice these things. Come on. I want in on the secret."

"Daddy, you're already in on the secret", Myles uttered. "That Uncle Nick likes Aunt Miley."

Joe rolled his eyes. He knew that Myles wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut. "Son, who all have you told about this?"

"Just Belle. I didn't tell Aunt Miley. I promise I didn't."

"Hey, Myles. Maybe Uncle Joe could help us", Belle pointed out.

The little boy's eyes widened. "Could you, daddy?"

"Could I what?", Joe asked cautiously. Whatever these two were trying to do, he knew that he probably didn't want to get involved.

"Help us get Uncle Nick and Aunt Miley alone together. They're never gonna fall in love and get married if they don't get to be alone", Myles stated. Belle nodded in agreement.

Joe couldn't help but smile. Kids saw things with such simplicity. He knew what he was about to say was against his better judgment. "Tell you what? I'll see what I can do. But you two gotta stop with all your scheming, okay?" The kids nodded.

* * *

Later that evening, Lilly walked out of the hotel bathroom wearing a stunning black dress. Her hair was swept up elegantly. Very rarely did Miley remember seeing her this dressed up.

"Wow, you look so beautiful", Miley gushed as she watched her friend put on a pair of diamond earrings.

"Thanks", Lilly smiled. "Are you sure you don't mind watching Myles? I know him and Belle are a handful when they're together."

"Oh, yeah, it's no problem. Besides, I'll have Nick to help me. You and Joe just go have a great time. Don't worry about a thing."

"I just feel kind of bad. Going out on the town while you and Nick are stuck here keeping kids entertained", Lilly admitted.

Miley gave her a hint of a smile. "Don't feel bad. Hey, I bet we have a better time than you guys. Just chillin', eating pizza, watching cartoons."

Lilly laughed as they heard a knock on the door. She smoothed her dress, and opened it. Nick and the kids walked past her, and then, she saw her husband. All decked out in a tuxedo with a single rose in his hand. He handed it to her. "For my beautiful wife."

"Awww, you're so sweet. Bye, Miley", she waved before closing the door behind her.

"Alone at last", Joe grinned, leaning down to kiss her.

"Mmm-hmm." She pulled back. "But we should probably be going. There will be a lot more time for that later."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

* * *

"So", Nick uttered as he set a Wal-Mart bag of DVD's down on one of the beds. "I guess it was smart of Lilly to bring these after all. What are you guys feelin' tonight? We got your Lion King, your Little Mermaid, your...Twilight?" He shook his head. "Not sure how that one got in there."

"Oh, you're not a Twilight fan?", Miley teased, sitting down on the floor. Myles and Belle practically attacked the bag of movies.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna let you guys pick one out", Nick said as he sat down on the floor as well. "Nah, Twilight's not really my thing. I guess it's because I didn't find Jacob to be a total dreamboat like every girl in the theater."

She laughed. "Can I ask why you were in the theater watching Twilight in the first place?"

"An ill-advised date", he sighed. "And there didn't wind up being a second one."

"We found one!", Myles announced to them, holding up a copy of Titanic.

"It's a love movie", Belle informed them.

Nick and Miley exchanged puzzled looks. "You guys want to watch Titanic?", he repeated, just to make sure he was hearing this right.

They both nodded.

"No way. That is entirely too inappropriate for you two", Miley said, rejecting the movie. "Don't you want to watch a cartoon or something?"

The kids looked at each other. "No", they answered in unison.

"Okay", Nick relented, putting the DVD in the DVD player. "But we're going to have to skip through half the movie."

Belle grinned. "As long as we don't have to skip the love parts."

* * *

Lilly and Joe walked down the boardwalk, their hands laced together. She smiled as she looked at him. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"I love you too", he said softly, stopping to stare down at his wife. He tucked a piece of blond hair behind her ear. "You are so beautiful."

"Well, you're not too hard to look at yourself", she said playfully. "Oh, I'm so glad we got to do this. Don't get me wrong. I love spending time with Miley and Nick and the kids, but I need my Joe time."

He laughed. "And I need my Lilly time. But there's actually kind of something that I need to tell you real quick." She looked at him attentively. "You were right. Nick does like Miley."

Lilly clapped her hands together. "I knew it! He told you?"

Joe nodded. "Yeah. And I wanted to tell you when he told me, but he didn't want me to tell you because he thought you would run straight to Miley with it. But then, Myles overheard us talking about it, and he told Belle about it. And now, they're trying to play matchmaker, and I think they're kind of assuming that I'm going to help them."

"Whoa, slow down", she said, sitting down on the nearest bench. He sat down next to her. "So, Myles and Belle know that Nick likes Miley?"

"Well, yeah. And if Nick doesn't tell Miley how he feels soon, one of them is bound to spill the beans", he pointed out. "They want me to set the two of them up."

Lilly couldn't help but smile. "Aw, that's sweet of them. But Joe, I'm not sure that we should get involved. I know Nick's a wonderful guy, but Miley is just starting to get over everything that happened with Jake. It might be too much too soon for her."

"You could be right", Joe admitted. "But you do know the kind of guy Nick is. He would never hurt Miley. He just needs a chance to prove that to her."

She gave him a thoughtful look. "I guess you have a point. I don't want Miley to get hurt again, and I don't think that would happen with Nick. So, lets say we do set them up this once. But after that, we never interfere again."

He grinned. "Sounds like a plan. I guess I just want them to be as happy as us, you know?"

"I know", Lilly agreed. "I feel so lucky that I actually found the guy who I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with. And who knows? Maybe Nick will turn out to be that guy for Miley."

* * *

It didn't take the kids ten minutes to fall asleep after the movie started. Miley and Nick had been chatting through most of it. They had talked about everything under the sun really. Their families, favorite bands, where they wanted their lives to go. She really hadn't been paying that much attention to the movie. Until the sound of a stinging slap captured her attention. She wanted so much to ignore it. But her eyes went back to the screen, and tears threatened to well up in them. No. She wouldn't cry. Not over a movie and not in front of Nick.

He couldn't help but notice the expression on her face. The smile that had been there just a few moments ago was replaced by a look of utter anguish. "Miley...are you okay?", he asked gently.

She slowly turned back to him. "He...hit her", she stated quietly. "I mean, I know it's just a movie. It's not real..."

"It was to you", Nick said softly. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to pretend with me. I should have remembered that part was in the movie. I'm sorry", he apologized, pressing the pause button on the remote.

"No, you didn't do anything wrong", Miley tried to assure him. "I'm being over-sensitive. I can't keep letting stuff like this get to me."

"You're not being over-sensitive. You've been through a lot of things that no one should have to go through. But you're safe now, Miley. I will make sure that he never hurts you again", he vowed, staring directly into her eyes. "You have my word on that."

She allowed a tear to fall down her cheek as he put his arm around her in an attempt to comfort her. Her eyes stared up into his, and she was sure that she had never trusted someone so much in her entire life.

"I believe you", she said honestly. "You've been so wonderful to me, and I don't think I can ever tell you just how much it means to me...how much you mean to me."

"You mean a lot to me too." Nick wished that he could tell her that his feelings for her ran deeper than those of friendship. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. Not until he knew that she was fully ready to hear something like that.

She smiled at him, and then glanced over at the kids who were sprawled out on the floor. "We should probably get them in bed", she stated, reluctantly standing up. He stood up as well.

"We should", he agreed before realizing that he had left his hotel key in the other room. "But there may be a little problem with that."

"What?"

"I left my room key in the room, and I'm not sure when Lilly and Joe are going to be back."

Miley nodded. "Well, that's okay. You and Myles can just stay in here with us for the night."

Nick looked at her unsurely. "Miley, I don't know..."

"Nick, it's fine", she assured him. And it was. She completely trusted him. Miley got Belle settled in one bed while Nick got Myles situated in the other.

"Miley?", he said before turning off the lamp.

"Yeah?"

"Good night."

She smiled to herself. "Good night, Nick."

* * *

**So, I hope you guys liked it. Please let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I love hearing what you guys think about this story. Here's the next chapter, and I think (well hope) that you guys will like it!**

* * *

The week had gone by quickly...much too quickly for Miley's liking. They would be going back home tomorrow. Back to real life. But she had decided not to think about that, and just enjoy this last day. This trip had rejuvenated her, and for that, she was grateful. Though she couldn't help but wish they could stay here forever.

And enjoy the last day they did. They got to ride the last of the rides on everyone's wish lists. They got about a million pictures of the kids posing next to practically all of Disney's famous landmarks. It was a wonderful day for everyone, except maybe Lilly.

She emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet for the third time that day as Miley held her hair back. She groaned as she stood up. "God, I feel awful."

Miley gave her a sympathetic look. "You look like you have the stomach virus. That's kind of weird though, since none of us got it."

"Yet. You probably need to stay away from me", Lilly warned.

Miley pressed her hand to her friend's forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever." Suddenly, her eyes grew large. "Lilly, when was your last period?"

Lilly's eyes grew even larger. "Oh my God. I don't remember. It hasn't been for a while though. Miley, do you think I'm pregnant?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you do just have some kind of bug. But you should probably take a test to see one way or another."

She sighed as Lilly began to hyperventilate. "But what if I am pregnant? Me and Joe...we haven't talked about having another baby. Not for a while anyway. What if he's not happy about it?"

Miley rested her hands squarely on Lilly's shoulders. "Look at me. If you are pregnant, you know as well as I do that Joe will be thrilled about it. I can see how much he loves you and Myles. It wouldn't be any different with a new baby."

Lilly slowly nodded. "I have to go get a test."

"Okay, I'll go with you."

Lilly shook her head, knowing Miley would have other plans for the night. Her possible pregnancy wasn't going to screw them up. "That's okay. You need to go meet everybody else for dinner. I'll just be a little late."

"You can't just be late, Lil. We made a reservation. We'll pick you up a test on the way back."

"I'll only be a few minutes", the blonde assured her. "Go ahead."

* * *

Nick walked outside to the pool, and stared in disbelief. The good news was that he had finally found his brother and the kids. The bad news was that they had a dinner reservation in half an hour, and Joe had apparently forgotten.

"Joe! What are you doing, man? We got a reservation to get to!", he called.

Joe looked up at him from the pool. "Oh, wow. I completely forgot!", he said in a fake expression of panic. He lifted the kids out of the pool, and then met up with Nick.

"Dude, how do you forget about this? Lilly and Miley have been talking about this place all week."

"I don't know. I guess I just got preoccupied with these two", he replied, handing towels to Myles and Belle. "Man, I don't think I'll be able to get ready in time. I'll just have to be a little late."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Lilly is going to kill you."

"No, she won't. Because you're going to go meet her and Miley, and tell them that me and the kids will be there in a few minutes."

He looked at the kids who were staring up at him with sneaky grins. They were up to something. "Yeah, I guess I'll go", he finally agreed. "But don't take too long."

"We did it!", Belle squealed, once Nick was out of earshot. "Now, mommy and Uncle Nick can have a real date!"

"And then, they can get married!", Myles added excitedly.

"And I can be the flower girl!"

"Don't get too ahead of yourselves, guys", Joe said cautiously. "We don't know how this little experiment is going to turn out."

* * *

Dressed in her favorite outfit, a shimmery strapless dress that matched her eyes, Miley walked into the restaurant. It was gorgeous, and apparently one of the most popular places around. She was used to these kinds of places. Hannah used to go to them all the time. It didn't exactly strike her as kid-friendly though. Most of the people here were couples.

"Can I help you?", the man at the desk asked.

"Uh, yes. I have a reservation. It's under Lucas. Joseph Lucas. Party of six. Four of them are probably here already."

The waiter just smiled, having already been informed of what was going on. "Right this way", he said, leading her to a private area. But the table was only set for two. Nick realized what was going on as he looked up at her. They had been set up. He had never felt so annoyed and so grateful at the same time.

Miley was still confused though. "Nick...where are Joe and the kids?", she asked slowly.

"They were at the pool. Apparently, Joe forgot that we had the reservation here. He said he would bring them after they got ready. Where's Lilly?"

"Let's just say she may be going through something pretty big", she sighed. She turned to the waiter. "Do you guys mind giving us a bigger table for when my friends come?"

"Sorry. This is all we have available", the man informed her. "Can I start you two out with something to drink?"

Miley reluctantly sat down, and they ordered. Then, she heard her phone vibrate inside her bag. It was a text from Lilly.

_Don't think I'm going to make it to the restaurant. I just feel too sick. I'm about to take the test right now. But don't worry about me. Just focus on having a great time. Love ya._

"Lilly isn't coming", she stated.

"I don't think Joe is either", Nick admitted. "I'm pretty sure that we've been set up."

Miley shook her head in an almost embarrassed fashion, realizing that he was probably right. How else would the restaurant have messed up their reservation and everyone else just not show up? Did they think she liked Nick or something? Well, she did like him. A lot. But she didn't like him in _that_ way. At least, she didn't think she did. Besides, even if she did, he probably only thought of her as a friend anyway.

As they ate and chatted, Nick began to feel less annoyed with the idea of being set up. This might be the only way he would actually get a date with Miley. And he didn't even have to go through the stress of asking her.

"It's kind of crazy, isn't it?", Miley remarked casually. "Lilly and Joe trying to set us up. But I guess it's sweet that they care so much."

Nick nodded, praying that he wouldn't regret what he was about to say. "Miley, I actually need to make a confession."

The serious look on his face made her heart beat faster. "Okay..."

He took a deep breath, and began to speak. "I really care about you. And I want us to stay friends regardless of how you feel about me. Can you promise me that?"

Her expression morphed into one of confusion. "Yeah, of course I want us to stay friends. Why would you think I wouldn't?"

"Because I like you...as more than a friend", he said softly. She didn't respond. Instead, it was as if she was in a frozen state, unable to respond. This was a bad idea. The last thing that he wanted was to pressure her into anything before she was ready. Now, she would probably never look at him the same way again. She moved her lips as if to say something, but nothing came out.

"You don't have to say anything", Nick said quickly. "I just think it's time that I lay my cards out on the table. I think you're amazing. I think you're smart and funny and kind. I think you're a great friend and a great mom. And you're the most beautiful person that I've ever met...inside and out. I love everything about you, Miley."

She could hardly believe everything that he was saying. He really thought those things...about her? Truthfully, she loved everything about him as well. And while it shocked her, it gave her butterflies at the same time to hear how he felt about her. Did that mean she liked him too?

"Nick...I don't know what to say", Miley managed to speak. "You...You really like me?"

The shock and confusion in her voice swirled with a hint of hope. That gave him the courage to go on. "I do. But if you don't like me that way, I totally understand. And I know that you've been through a lot, and it's hard for you to trust people because of it..."

"I trust you", she blurted out. "You've been so wonderful to me. I just...you could have any girl you want, Nick. Why would you want to pick someone as messed up as me?"

"You're not messed up. Please don't think that way of yourself. Every word that I said about you is the truth. You're amazing."

"You're amazing too", Miley said softly, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. And he most definitely was. And he liked _her_.

* * *

Lilly nervously knocked on her husband's hotel room door. It took Joe a minute, but he finally opened it. "Hey", he smiled. "Have you heard anything from Miley or Nick?"

Miley and Nick. She had practically forgotten all about them in the past few minutes. "Uh, no. But I really need to talk to you."

Joe took note of the freaked out look on his wife's face. "Okay, well, the kids are in here watching a movie."

"I think we should talk out here."

Now, she was beginning to scare him. "Lilly, is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No...yes...I don't know. I guess it depends on your reaction."

Joe looked at her in confusion. "My reaction to what?"

"A baby", Lilly said quietly.

"A baby?" Then, his eyes widened as he realized what was going on. "Oh my God. You're..."

"Pregnant", she finished for him. "Yeah. It looks like we're going to be parents again."

His initial look of shock turned into one of pure happiness. "We're gonna have a baby. Lilly, we're gonna have a baby!", he grinned as he embraced her tightly, lifting her off the ground. When her feet touched the ground again, she was smiling too.

"So, you're really happy about this?"

"Baby, I couldn't be happier", he said sincerely, cupping her face in his hands. "I love you so much."

"I love you too", Lilly replied in a relieved tone. "I know this wasn't exactly planned, but I'm so glad you're happy about it."

"Hey, you know what they say. The best things in life never are planned."

* * *

After dinner, Miley and Nick walked down the street. Things should have felt awkward. She had just found out that he liked her, and now, she was trying to decide if she felt the same way. She knew that she liked to spend time with him. She loved that he liked to make her smile. She even liked the butterflies that she would get if he looked at her a certain way or they were in close proximity to each other. But having had very little dating experience outside of Jake, she wasn't sure how real love was supposed to feel.

"Look!", Nick grinned as he pointed upwards to the sky. Though the noise from the fireworks had already drawn her attention. Beautiful streaks of so many different colors lit up the sky. It was amazing.

"It's so beautiful!", Miley breathed, her eyes not leaving the show of lights that was occuring above her.

Not as beautiful as you. That was the first thing that popped into his head, but he was able to resist the urge to deliver that corny line. "It is", he finally agreed, his glance alternating between her and the sky.

"Nick?", she said as she turned to look at him, feeling a brief surge of bravery sweep through her.

"What?"

"I want to kiss you."

His eyes widened. Did he hear that correctly? "Uh...what?", he uttered.

"I want to see if I feel the same way you do", Miley attempted to explain. Though she was beginning to think that she already knew the answer to that. "Is that okay with you?"

This time, Nick was the one who was frozen in shock. "Yeah", he finally managed to reply.

She took a deep breath, in an attempt to get her rapidly beating heart under control. And then, she tilted her head upwards, and her lips slowly collided with his. It was everything she thought it would be. Gentle, caring...but there was also an undeniable sense of passion that she felt that she didn't even know still existed. When he slowly pulled away, she stared into his eyes. The fireworks that had dominated their attention before were now just part of the background. All that mattered in that moment was the two of them.

* * *

**Please let me know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! You have no idea how much they mean to me!**

* * *

After their magical vacation, it didn't take long for reality to set back in for Miley. A week exactly. A cruel reminder in the form of a text message. She had been hesitant to even open it when his name had popped up on her phone. But she did anyway.

_Hey, baby. Look, I'm sorry about everything. Please come home. I miss you like crazy. I promise things will be different this time. I love you. -Jake_

That was what he said every time. That was what she fell for every time. But not this one. This time, she didn't reply back. Though it still got to her on some level. She had gotten away, and yet, she wasn't sure if she would ever really be free.

And then, there was Nick. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about the kiss they had shared. How alive it had made her feel. She really did like him. There wasn't any other conclusion that she could possibly come to. She just wasn't sure what to do about it. And Lilly was determined to help her, even though she had plenty on her own plate. It turns out that she was further along than she had suspected. It would be around seven months instead of eight before the new baby was here.

"You have to tell him how you feel", Lilly insisted as she poured a glass of water for herself.

Miley sat on a barstool with a hopeless expression on her face. "Lilly, I don't know how I feel. I know I like him. That's pretty much all."

"So, tell him that. We've already established that he's crazy about you. It's not like you're going to get rejected."

"Maybe I'm scared of what will happen next", she admitted. "I mean, do we start dating? Ugh, I don't know what I'm doing!"

"Nick knows all about your situation, Miley", Lilly reminded her. "He's not going to try to rush things. You can set the pace at whatever you're comfortable with."

Maybe that was what scared her. The amount of control that she had in this situation. She didn't know what to do with it. She had never had any control when she was with Jake. She did what he wanted, or he made her live to regret it. Nick wanted her to dictate what happened next. If she didn't make the move, it probably wouldn't be made. And she wanted it to be made.

"Why don't we do something to take your mind off of Nick for a few hours?", Lilly suggested. "We can go shopping. I'm going to need some...maternity clothes."

Miley giggled at the look on Lilly's face as she forced out the last two words. She just couldn't imagine her best friend being pregnant. The next few months would certainly be interesting.

"You didn't save them from when you were pregnant with Myles?"

Lilly shook her head. "I didn't think I'd need them. At least not for a long, long time. Oh, and I'm just going to warn you right now. The last time I was pregnant, I had insane cravings. And I was really moody. So, I apologize in advance."

"Hey, I've been there. I craved pizza like crazy when I was pregnant with Belle", Miley informed her.

"That's not weird", Lilly remarked.

"I put syrup on it."

The blonde laughed. "Well, lets hope that mine don't get that gross."

* * *

Joe was getting tired of watching Nick pick at his food for the past ten minutes. He was so clearly distracted. And Joe was sure that a certain brunette was the cause.

"Dude, you've got to get your mind off of Miley", he stated.

Nick gave his brother an are-you-serious look. "How am I supposed to get my mind off of her? I told her how I felt. We kissed. I have to know what she's thinking."

"And I'm sure she'll tell you what she's thinking when she figures it out for herself. She's probably really confused."

"I know. I just really like her", he sighed. "I want her to be the one."

"Maybe she is", Joe said in an optimistic tone. "But you've been patient up to this point. You just got to stick with it, you know? Don't try to rush anything."

"Yeah, I'm not", Nick assured him. He decided to change the topic. "So, are you excited about being a daddy again?"

A wide grin spread across his brother's face. "Absolutely. Look bro, I didn't even realize that I wanted another kid before Lilly told me that she was pregnant. Now, I can't wait for him to get here."

He rolled his eyes. "I love how you automatically assume it's a boy."

Joe laughed. "Well, yeah. If it's a girl, I'm going to be scared to death. Especially if she's as pretty as her mom. I'll have to get a shotgun to chase all the boys away. But if you end up with Miley, you'll get to go through that first. I'll just observe."

Nick's facial expression changed a bit. Of course he had known that Miley and Belle were a package deal, but he hadn't really considered that he would have to learn how to be a dad. Sure, kids seemed to like him. But he didn't know how to do all of the things that parents do. And if he did win Miley over, he would have to be prepared to take on those responsibilities.

"Nick? You okay?"

He looked up at his brother's concerned face. "Yeah. Joe, can I ask you something? How do you think Belle would feel about me and Miley? She likes me, doesn't she?"

"Are you kidding me? That kid is crazy about you. She's been scheming right along with Myles to try to get you and Miley together." It took Joe a second to figure out the source of Nick's anxiety. "You're worried about the possibility of becoming an instant dad, huh?"

He slowly nodded. Joe sighed. "Okay, first of all, you need to see where things are going between you and Miley before you even worry about this. Second, you would be an awesome dad, man. Anyone can see that. You need a little practice, but it's not rocket science. If it was, I would never be able to pull it off."

Nick smiled. His brother certainly had a point there. But even if the idea of being a dad did make him nervous, he liked it at the same time. Especially if Miley was the mom. He just prayed that she would give him a chance.

* * *

After walking all over the mall, Lilly and Miley took a much needed break at the food court. Miley had forgotten how much fun it was to go shopping with her best friend. They used to spend whole days just browsing through stores. Not even buying anything the majority of the time. Of course, that was harder to do with two kids trying to run off every five minutes.

Lilly shuffled through her bags, looking at her purchases. She held one of the things that she had bought for Myles up for Miley to see. A shirt that said "World's Best Big Brother."

"Isn't it adorable?", she remarked. Miley nodded, smiling.

"I can't wait for my baby brother to get here!", Myles said excitedly. "He's gonna be awesome!"

"No, what's really going to be awesome is when you and your daddy both find out that this baby is a girl", Lilly said, putting the shirt back into the bag.

"Girls are the best", Belle commented, taking a bite of her giant cookie.

"Nuh-uh", Myles retorted.

"Uh-huh!"

Miley shook her head, unable to resist the urge to laugh. Lilly couldn't either. "Okay, guys. There is no need to argue over which gender is better. We'll be happy with either one", she said.

"Well, I hope I get a baby brother. Girls are weird", Myles remarked.

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Guys!", Lilly snapped. "People are staring."

Belle turned to Miley. "Mommy, since Myles is getting a baby brother or sister, can I get one too?"

Miley almost choked on her drink. "Belle, I can't just get you a brother or sister. It's a little more complicated than that.", she tried to explain.

"How? I want a baby brother or sister too!", the little girl whined, not realizing why Myles could have one and she couldn't. "I'll be a good big sister, mommy. I promise! I'll even share Hannah with her!"

"But Aunt Miley can't have a baby without a daddy", Myles pointed out.

"Hey, ladies. What's going on?" They all looked up to see Joe and Nick standing behind them, each carrying a single bag. The two women breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, just shopping", Lilly answered, motioning to what looked like seven or eight shopping bags scattered on the tile floor.

"Uncle Nick, if mommy has a baby, will you be the daddy?", Belle asked bluntly.

"Arabella!", Miley practically yelled, feeling her cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

Nick's eyes widened. "Miley...are you..."

"No! No, I'm definitely not", she said quickly. "Belle just wants a little sibling now because Myles is getting one."

"Hey, I was an only child", Lilly informed the little girl. "I liked it. You get all of your parents' attention, and you don't have to share your toys with anyone."

"Good point. And you wouldn't have to guard your toys all the time because you were worried about your brother breaking them", Joe commented.

Nick rolled his eyes. "You break one fire truck, and you never hear the end of it."

* * *

Lilly and Joe ended up taking the kids home with them, so Miley and Nick would have a chance to talk. They ended up at Nick's house. Miley was surprised to realize that this was the first time that she had seen it. A cute little two-story bungalow. The more she looked around, the more she loved it.

"This house is beautiful", she breathed as he handed her a glass of lemonade.

"Thanks. It's kind of small, but it works for me", he stated.

She nodded, trying to give herself a moment to figure out what to say. "I uh...I think we should probably talk", she finally said.

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever she had to say. It was impossible to tell by the expression on her face. She looked nervous. God, he didn't want to make her nervous! He just wanted to know what was going on in her head.

"I think we should", Nick agreed. "Miley, I like you. I like you a lot. And I care about you a lot. But I don't want you to feel obligated to rush things with me, because I can wait. If you need time or even if you've changed your mind about us..."

"I haven't. I like you too", Miley said softly. "I know that there's something between us, and I want to see where it could go. I'm just not really sure how to go about doing that."

He gave her a faint smile. "Well, we could start with a date. You know, if you want. We could go to the movies or a concert...it's up to you."

She couldn't help but smile back. She never thought that she would find a decent guy, much less one as amazing as Nick. He truly was one in a million. As the chorus of Hannah's old song played in her head for the first time in years, she wondered if Nick knew that she used to be Hannah. Had Lilly told them? He had never mentioned it to her if she had. Should she tell him? It wasn't a relevant part of her life anymore, but she couldn't stand the idea of keeping secrets from him. Especially when their relationship was just beginning.

"It really doesn't matter to me", she said honestly.

He smiled. "Okay. It doesn't matter to me either. As long as I get to be with you."

Miley let out a sigh. She had to tell him. "Nick, I don't want to go into...whatever this is between us...with any secrets. There's something about my past that I feel like you should know."

"Okay...", Nick said slowly, looking at her attentively. She initially couldn't bring herself to say the words. Why did it have to be so hard? Hannah was practically dead and buried. Divulging this shouldn't be difficult. She trusted Nick.

"Do you remember Hannah Montana?", she finally asked. "She used to be a popular singer?"

He nodded, though he was a bit confused. "Yeah. She's the one who kind of disappeared into thin air, right? No one could figure out what happened to her."

"Yeah. The thing is...you're looking at her."

His eyes widened in shock. She really hoped that he believed her, and he didn't just think that she had lost her mind or something. She watched him as he tried to process what he had just heard.

"You're...Hannah Montana?", Nick uttered, unable to disguise the doubt in his voice. How could Miley have been a pop star? There was a definite resemblance that he noticed now that he looked, but this just couldn't be real.

Miley nodded slowly. "I know it's probably really hard to believe. But it's true." He didn't respond, so she continued. "I lost pretty much everything when I decided to be with Jake. Hannah included. I had no idea how big of a mistake it would turn out to be. So, she's not a part of my life anymore, but I still wanted you to know."

He still found himself unable to respond. "Miley...I...how...you...you're her", he finally managed to stammer.

"I was. Here, let me show you", she said as she opened her mouth to sing.

_They say that good things take time_

_But really great things happen in a blink of an eye_

_Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one_

_I cannot believe it, oh woah, you're one in a million_

"You really are her", he breathed. "Miley, your voice is amazing."

"Thanks", she said, allowing herself to smile a bit. "So, this doesn't change the way you feel about me or anything?"

"What, no! Are you kidding me? It just seems like every time I think that you can't get any more amazing, I find out that you can."

"I told you I'm a complicated person", Miley stated. "I just want you to realize that your life will be a thousand times more complicated if you get involved with me."

Nick gently took her hand into his own. "Well, that's a risk that I'm willing to take."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome. **

* * *

It had been a month since Miley revealed the Hannah secret to Nick, and they had officially been dating for two weeks. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had been so happy. They were taking things slow, of course. They both knew that it would be better in the long run that way because she simply couldn't afford to dive into anything again. Not only did he completely understand, but he made it clear that he wouldn't have it any other way. And God, help her. That just made her fall for him even harder.

It was one of those days that she lived for. He had taken off work to spend the day with her. The kids were back in school now. Lilly and Joe were at a doctor's appointment. It was just the two of them. Well, unless you counted Bessie, who barked every ten minutes just to remind them of her presence.

"I think she's lonely", Miley remarked, though still not moving her head from his shoulder. She had quickly found that this was her favorite position in the whole world. Just curled up next to him on the couch, while they watched TV. Even when that sports crap that him and Joe liked so much was on.

A smile slowly formed on Nick's face. "You know, she probably wants a bath. Have you seen her? She looks like she's found a mudhole somewhere."

She sat up, her wide eyes expressing surprise. "Are you suggesting we try to bathe her?", she asked, her tone letting on that she thought it was a bad idea. In her experience, dogs really really really hated baths. Like even more than kids do.

He shrugged playfully. "Yeah, why not?"

"But then I would have to change, and my hair would get all messed up, and..."

"Miley", he cut her off, smiling. "You could wear a paper bag, and you would still look beautiful. Come on."

"Oh, I have one", she informed him, getting a puzzled look in response.

"Lets just say my Uncle Earl was a Saints fan before it became cool to be a Saints fan", she explained. "This bag has got googly eyes that pop out of it and everything."

Nick laughed. "Maybe I'll take you to a game sometime, and you can wear it."

"Oh, noooo...they don't wear them anymore. That was just when they were really bad. But if you took me to a Jaguars game, I could totally wear it."

"How do you know which teams are good or bad? I thought you hated sports."

Miley sighed. "I do. But I had the misfortune of catching a few minutes of one of their games. It was sadder than a dog without a bone", she said, shaking her head.

He smiled, secretly loving it when she got all southern on him. "Well, speaking of dogs. Bessie still needs that bath."

"Yeah, okay."

* * *

Nick prepared the washtub, and got the water hose and the soap ready. He had thrown on some of Joe's old clothes, knowing his brother wouldn't mind. He glanced at the dog who was suspiciously eyeing him. Almost as if to say, "I know this fool doesn't think I'm getting in there."

"Come here, Bess", he said, patting his knees. The dog was still looking at him suspiciously. She had probably figured out what he was up to by now. This would certainly be interesting.

"Okay, let's do this", Miley said, stepping out onto the patio. She had a pair of raggedy jeans on, paired with an old T-shirt. Her long hair was pulled up in a ponytail, with loose strands that she had tucked behind her ears. There was absolutely nothing that this girl didn't look amazing in.

"Whoa", he breathed, unable to tear his eyes away from her.

She rolled her eyes. "Nick, this is the raggediest thing I could find. There is nothing whoa about it."

"Speak for yourself. So, which one of us is going to get the honor of holding her down?", Nick wondered, glancing at the dog who still wasn't within five feet of them.

Miley looked at the dog and then back at him. "This was your idea."

"Okay", he relented. He slowly began to approach the dog. Bessie immediately scampered in the opposite direction. They were very lucky that the backyard was fenced in.

"Bessie! Come here, girl", he said, making that distinctive clicking noise with his tongue. The noise that dogs simply could not resist. She slowly pranced over to him, and he quickly scooped her up, and ran to the washtub.

Miley had the sponge ready when Nick dropped her in it, causing a monumental splash. Water went all over the place, drenching both of them.

"Nick!", she yelled, as the dog kept trying to get out of the water. "Hold her still!"

"I'm trying!"

But that was easier said than done. Miley managed to shampoo most of Bessie as Nick tried to keep her still. But then, she managed to escape his grasp, and retreated to the other side of the yard. Soapy bubbles flew off of her as she ran.

"Sweet nibblets", Miley muttered, wiping some of the soap off of her shirt.

"I think I have an idea", Nick said, eyeing the dog. He took the water hose into his hands.

She shook her head, realizing that the neighbors were watching with amusement. "Nick, maybe we should..."

"I got this, Miley", he assured her. Then, when he had gotten the dog cornered somewhat against the fence, he turned the water hose on full-force. And of course, Bessie started howling and running across the yard.

"Bessie!", he yelled, chasing her around the yard in circles, drenching everything in his path. Miley couldn't help but laugh. Until he accidentally got her with it.

"Okay, okay, okay!", she grinned, snatching the hose away from him. "I think she's clean now. And now, you will be too!"

The force of the water blew Nick backwards onto the ground. "Miley!", he yelled, as she toppled over on top of him, stil giggling.

He grinned as he stared up at her. Slowly, he pushed her tangled curls out of her face. "God, you're beautiful", he said softly. And she was. The way the sunlight was hitting her, from his position on the ground. She looked like an angel.

She smiled, and leaned her head downwards, capturing his lips with her own. The kiss was long, slow, and gentle. At least it was before it was rudely interrupted by Bessie jumping on top of them.

"Lord, Bessie. You have some bad timing, don't you?", Miley laughed, petting the dog affectionately. She looked at Nick who was smiling at them. He was falling so hard for this girl. And he knew that there was no stopping it now.

* * *

When Lilly walked into the kitchen later that afternoon, she was a bit surprised to find Miley and Nick preparing about five different dishes for dinner. Was there some kind of special occasion that she had forgotten about?

"Uh...hi, guys", she uttered, making her presence known. The smell of a chicken cooking suddenly made her realize that she was starving. She wanted it. Now.

"Hi", Miley chirped, turning away from the stove. "How did the appointment go? Is everything okay with my baby goddaughter?"

"They don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet", she reminded her friend. "But yes, he or she is doing great. What is all of this?", she asked, motioning to all the food.

"It's a long story", Nick sighed, continuing to slice a tomato.

"This is me making sure Nick doesn't get bored again, and suggest something crazy like giving the dog a bath", Miley said, giving him a playful glare.

Lilly laughed. "You two tried to bathe Bessie?"

They gave her tired nods. "On the upside, she should be good for a little while", Miley remarked.

Joe walked into the kitchen, and slipped his arms around his wife's waist. "God, it smells good in here. What are we having?"

"Salad, baked chicken, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, and cornbread", Miley said, naming all the foods off on her fingers. "Y'all are getting some real southern cooking tonight."

"Well, it smells awesome", Joe commented.

"Yeah, so when will it be done?", Lilly asked impatiently, as the aroma of the chicken got to her once more. "You can't tempt a pregnant woman for too long."

"Uh, about fifteen minutes", Miley answered.

Lilly groaned dramatically. "But that's such a long time!"

"Hey, you guys wanna see the baby?", Joe asked excitedly, pulling out one of the photos from the sonogram. Nick and Miley eagerly gathered around to look.

Miley smiled at the creature that was just beginning to resemble a baby. "Awww, that's her?"

"No, that's him", Nick corrected her. "That is definitely a boy."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Hey, you know they tried to give Bessie a bath?", Lilly informed her husband, interrupting the two of them.

Joe looked at them like they were crazy. He had to have at least three people holding the dog down the last time they had tried to give her a bath. "Why?"

Miley crossed her arms, and smirked at Nick. "Because your baby brother got bored."

"There was nothing on TV!", Nick pointed out as everyone laughed.

* * *

Later that night, Nick found himself sitting cross-legged on a carpeted pink rug because of Belle's insistence that he meet the famous Hannah. Very gently, like she was holding a real live baby, the little girl placed the porcelain doll in his arms.

"So, this is Hannah, huh?", he commented, looking down at the doll.

Belle nodded happily. "Isn't she pretty?"

"She is very pretty", he agreed.

Honestly, he always thought that porcelain dolls were rather creepy. He didn't know how girls slept with them in their rooms, knowing that their eyes were open...just staring at them while they slept. The idea gave him chills. But this particular doll had a certain warmth about it. Something that he just couldn't place. It had curly blond hair, and bright blue eyes. Maybe it was the skin. It wasn't that vampire white like most of them were. Or maybe it was the smile that actually looked natural.

"I don't let most people hold her", Belle informed him. "Cause mommy says that she would break easy. But I know you'll be careful with her."

"I will absolutely be careful with her", Nick assured her.

He knew that the little girl was referring to her doll, but he couldn't help but think of Miley as he said those words. In many ways, Miley was much like Belle's doll. Strikingly beautiful, but undeniably fragile. She was not the same broken girl that he had met all those weeks ago. The girl that he knew now smiled, laughed, loved...but she could also break. Nick would not let that happen.

"Uncle Nick, do you love my mommy?", Belle asked innocently, tilting her head in the same adorable way that her mother did.

He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. Especially to a six-year-old. Whatever he said would most likely be relayed to Miley. If he said no, it would hurt her immensely. If he said yes, she would feel pressured to say the same thing, even if she wasn't ready. But he knew that he did love her. So, what was a guy supposed to do?

"Of course I do", he replied as casually as he could. "How could anybody not love your mom?"

The little girl sat down next to him, deciding not to press him further. "I hope you and mommy get married", she remarked, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

"Why's that?", Nick wondered.

"Because you're so nice, and I love you a lot", Belle replied.

He fought back the tears that were threatening to fall, and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you too, princess."

That's when he realized how much he wanted this to work. He wanted to spend the rest of his life making Miley happy. He wanted to be this beautiful little girl's dad. And it filled him with joy to realize that it could all happen. His future was right there.

He didn't see Miley standing right outside the door, listening to their entire conversation. She wiped a tear from her eye, and smiled to herself. She was starting to think maybe...just maybe...she might love him too.

* * *

**So, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, especially Niley's little adventure with Bessie. Ha ha. But I want to know what YOU think. So, please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! So, there had to be some real drama eventually, and there is definitely some in this chapter. And there's a little bit of language too. Just warning you. Not too much though. Anyways, hope you like!**

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

Miley's voice came out much weaker than she needed it to be. She swallowed hard, finding the bravery to look him in the eyes. She knew that this would happen sooner or later. She was a bit surprised that it hadn't happened before.

Jake crossed his arms. "Can I come in?"

"No."

"Miley, this is ridiculous. I apologized. What else do you want from me?", he asked, genuinely puzzled as to why she wouldn't take him back.

"I want you to leave. And if you don't, I'm going to call the police."

She mentally prided herself on that threat. She was done letting him walk all over her. She was going to do the one thing that she had been unable to do for the past eight years. She was going to stand up for herself.

"You're going to call the police just because I came to talk to you? Yeah, we'll see how serious they take you."

"We will."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Just please come home. I miss you", he uttered, reaching for her hands.

She yanked them away. "Don't touch me", Miley warned, her voice deadly serious. "You're not sorry. And even if you really were, there is no way in hell that I am going anywhere with you ever again."

She could tell he was beginning to get angry. "What is wrong with you? What do you want me to do?", Jake demanded before regaining his composure...at least for a moment. "Anything you want, just name it."

She stepped closer, and looked him directly in the eyes. "I want you to go away, and for me to never have to look at you again for the rest of my life."

He let out a dry laugh, obviously reaching the end of his patience with her. A part of her wished that Lilly or Joe would come down the stairs, and end this. But the other part of her wanted to prove that she wasn't scared of him. Not anymore.

"Do you have any idea how many girls would kill to be with me?", he asked.

"Then, by all means, go find one of them", she retorted, motioning outside. "There's a big world out there, Jake. Maybe you'll find some other fool who will put up with you for the next eight years. Because she's too scared to leave your sorry ass. But that's not gonna be me."

Miley watched his expression turn cold. She felt that familiar sense of fear creep up within her, though she tried desperately to keep it at bay. She continued to stare him directly in the eyes, hoping that he couldn't see it in her own. Because fear was weakness.

"You are going to regret this, Miley", Jake uttered in an eerily quiet tone that sent chills up the back of her spine. With that, he walked away.

She wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but found herself unable to do so. Because there was nothing to be relieved about. She knew he had every intention of following through with his threat.

* * *

A few days passed since the incident, but Miley was still nervous about it. It didn't take her best friend too long to figure out that something was amiss with the brunette. They were in the car pick-up line waiting for the kids to get out of school. Lilly couldn't help but notice the way Miley was fiddling nervously with her hands, like she just couldn't keep still.

She sighed. "Miley, what's wrong? You've been acting really weird the past few days."

Miley stopped fiddling with her hands, realizing that was probably why Lilly thought something was wrong with her. Stupid hands! They had been giving everything away since she was a kid!

She forced a small smile for the blonde. "Lilly, I'm fine."

Lilly shook her head. "No, you're not. Come on. I'm your best friend. I know you. Tell me what's going on."

She glanced out the window. "Fine...I saw Jake", she said quietly, knowing what was about to come.

"You saw Jake? When? Oh my God. Is he stalking you?", Lilly asked, her expression reflecting her horror. Miley didn't respond, so her friend pressed further. "Miley, this is serious! When did this happen? Why didn't you say something before?"

"It was just a few days ago. I didn't want you to worry."

Lilly ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "How could I not worry when I know everything that you've went through because of him?"

"Lilly, I handled it. He hasn't been at the house since then", she assured her.

The blonde's eyes widened. "He was at our house! Oh my God!"

Miley wanted to smack herself in the face. Now, her best friend was about to have a panic attack, and it was all her fault. Of course, she knew that Jake didn't care anything about Lilly or her family. He didn't even care about Belle. He just wanted _her_.

She was eventually able to calm Lilly down, but not before she relayed the whole situation to Joe and Nick a few hours later, despite Miley's assurances that she had everything under control.

"Miley, why didn't you tell us about this?", Joe wondered as they all sat down in the living room. "He can't just show up at our house and harass you."

She looked down at the floor, not really knowing what to say. Nick softly took her hand in his own. "Hey, it's okay. We're just trying to protect you. That's all."

"I know", she said softly. "I guess...I guess I'm just...I spent eight years hiding everything he did to me from the rest of the world."

Nick nodded in understanding. "I know. But you aren't alone anymore", he pointed out, cupping her face in his hands. "We're going to make sure that you stay safe."

Miley rested her head against his chest as he enveloped her in a comforting embrace. She knew that they were all right. She should have told them the minute she saw Jake at the door. And next time, she would. Though she hoped that there wouldn't be a next time.

* * *

Nick knew that what he was about to do was probably a bad idea. It wasn't smart. It wasn't well-planned. But he was not just going to stand around and watch the girl he loved get harassed. Not when he knew that every encounter with her ex brought back all those awful memories that she just wanted to leave in the past. So, he found himself on the doorstep of that large house that looked more like a palace. He pressed the doorbell with authority. No, he wasn't the least bit afraid of Jake Ryan. But Miley was. And that was going to stop.

Jake opened the door, and looked at him with surprise. He obviously didn't know who he was. But he was about to find out.

"Uh, do I know you?"

"No. But you know my girlfriend pretty well", Nick replied, eyeing the other man with disgust. "Or maybe you don't. Otherwise, you wouldn't treat her like a piece of trash."

Jake gave him an expression that was a mix of confusion and amusement. "Look, you're clearly confused. I don't know who your girlfriend is, but I've probably never seen her before in my life."

"Oh, really. Does the name Miley ring a bell?"

The other man's eyes widened. "Miley is your girlfriend?", he asked doubtfully, obviously not believing it.

"She is. Oh, how rude of me. I never even introduced myself", Nick said sarcastically, extending his hand out to him. "Nick Lucas. I thought it was about time that we met."

Jake shook his head. "No. Miley is my fiancee. We're going to get back together. How do you even know her?"

"That's none of your business. I just thought that we should get a couple of things straight. Number one...you and Miley are done. She doesn't want you. Number two...she's with me now. Number three...I know everything that you've done to her, and you are damn lucky that you aren't in jail right now. And number four...if I see you anywhere near her ever again, I may not be able to restrain myself from killing you with my bare hands. So, stay away. Are we clear?"

Jake crossed his arms smugly, his shock that Miley had moved on already dissapating. "Miley still loves me, you know. She has loved me ever since we were teenagers. No way she picks you over me."

Nick rolled his eyes at the guy's arrogance. "God, you really are a moron. There is no competition. She doesn't want you anywhere near her, and in your twisted brain, that means that she still loves you? Sorry to disappoint you, but it doesn't work like that for normal people."

"Well, Miley's not normal. I bet there are a lot of things that she hasn't told you."

"Like how she used to be Hannah Montana? Yeah, I know that", Nick smirked. "But anyway, I'm not going to stand here and let you provoke me into doing something that I'm going to regret. Because, unlike you, I have people that would care if I got sent to prison. But this is your only warning. Stay away, or you will regret it."

* * *

Miley watched the fire burn in the fireplace, finding herself enchanted by it. She pulled the wool blanket up closer to her. She wasn't really cold. It just made her feel safe.

"Here you go."

She looked up to see Nick holding two mugs of hot chocolate. She gratefully took one, and he positioned himself on the floor next to her. He had learned many things about Miley Stewart, but one thing that stood out to him was that hot chocolate always made her feel better. Even if it wasn't her dad's "special" hot chocolate.

"So, I was thinking we could watch a movie", he suggested, motioning to his giant shelf of DVDs. "Whatever you want. I'll even go for a chick flick."

She gave him a faint smile. "Actually, I was kind of hoping that we could just talk."

"Okay. About what?", he wondered.

She shrugged, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. "I don't know. Anything that doesn't involve Jake Ryan."

"Sounds good to me", Nick agreed. "How about how beautiful you are?"

Miley couldn't help but giggle at how random that remark was. Then again, he was always saying something like that. And the sweet part was that he was sincere every time. Just like that, all of her problems seemed to fade into the background. All that mattered was that she was with the man that she loved. And she did love him. She hoped that he knew that somehow, even though she hadn't actually said it yet. Every time she got close, she got nervous and backed out.

She looked into his beautiful brown eyes, biting her lip. She wanted to say it. She wanted to tell him that she loved him. But did he love her too? What if he was the one who wasn't ready to say those three little words?

He thoughtfully tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Miley, what are you thinking?"

Her heart felt like it was beating through her chest. "I...it's kind of hot in here. Don't you think?", she blurted out, throwing the blanket off of her.

Nick looked a bit surprised. "Uh, okay. Here, I'll go turn the thermostat down some."

Miley watched him walk away, and buried her face in one of the soft couch pillows. Well, that was a complete epic fail. Of course, she wasn't lying when she said it was hot. But it was mostly because she was so nervous, and she sweated when she was nervous. Great. She was going to be all sweaty when she told Nick that she loved him. That was just her luck.

"Please don't let me blow this", she said quietly, glancing upwards.

She managed to calm herself down a little bit, but it was to no avail. The second he walked back into the room, her heart rate sped up again.

She lifted the mug to her lips, allowing the warm hot chocolate to slide down her throat. Hot chocolate was her cure for everything. But it did little to make this any easier.

Nick collapsed back onto the floor beside her. "It should start getting cooler soon."

Truthfully, he thought it was pretty darn cold in there already. He lifted the blanket partially over his own body. She sighed, and searched her brain for a way to tell him. She didn't want to just blurt it out.

"Nick?", Miley uttered reluctantly. He turned attentively to her, and she took a deep breath. "I need to tell you something. And I'm kind of scared. Because I'm not really sure how you'll react."

His expression showed his concern. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No", she said quickly. "Not at all. At least, not with us. I just...I..."

"Miley", he said, staring directly into her blue orbs. "You know you can tell me anything."

"I love you", she finally whispered, a tear streaming down her cheek as she said the words.

Nick had never been as stunned in his entire life as he was at that moment. He had also never been as overjoyed as he was at that moment. He felt like he couldn't even speak. There were no words to convey how it made him feel to hear her say that.

She kept waiting for him to say something back. Every second that passed, she became more worried that she had just made a big mistake.

"Nick, please say something."

Then, all of her fears were instantly alleviated when he gave her the biggest smile. She could see his eyes were shining with tears as well.

"I love you too, baby. I love you so much", he breathed.

Miley's tears of joy mingled with tears of relief. She brushed her fingers against his cheek. God, she never thought that she would know what real love felt like. And it was even better than she ever imagined. She closed her eyes, savoring the moment that his lips met hers. And they remained there for hours, kissing in front of the dancing flames.

They never saw the figure that was watching them from the window...


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey guys! As always, thanks so much for your lovely reviews! I can't tell you how much I appreciate them. So, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

Nick smiled as he watched Miley sleep. Her lips were slightly parted, and the blanket partially covered her body. Her hair was strewn all over the place, some of it even hanging off of the couch. She looked so peaceful. He could sit there and watch her for hours. He was still in a fair amount of disbelief over what she had said the night before. She loved him. The most amazing girl on the face of the planet loved _him_. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world.

A faint knock on the door regrettably prompted him to get up. He made his way to the front door, thinking it was probably Joe or Lilly wondering why Miley didn't come home last night. God, they were all probably worried sick. Unless she had called them before. He assumed that she would've texted Lilly, considering they informed each other about everything. But he was not expecting the face that he saw when he opened the door.

"Macy?"

The pretty brunette grinned, and threw her arms around him. "Nick!"

He almost stumbled backwards, he was so surprised to see her. She pulled away, and smiled at him. He didn't know what to make of this. His ex-girlfriend showing up at his door with his current girlfriend sleeping on the couch a few feet away. Man, if Miley woke up...this was about to be very awkward.

"Macy...hey! You look great!", he remarked truthfully. And she did. She looked almost exactly the way she had when he had last seen her. He used to think she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Until he met Miley anyway.

"Thanks! So do you! It's so good to see you again!"

"Right. So, what brings you here?", he asked as he stepped outside, shutting the door behind him in an attempt to avoid waking Miley up.

"Oh, I'm in town now!", she excitedly informed him. "I just thought I would come see you. I've really missed you, Nick."

He just nodded. God, he hoped that she wasn't here thinking that he was interested in them getting back together. He did care about her, and there was a time not too long ago that he would've been very receptive to the idea. But he was in love with Miley now. Whatever he used to feel for Macy wasn't there anymore.

"So, how have you been?", Nick asked, forcing an awkward silence away.

"I've been good. But now, I'm great. Because I finally get to see you again", Macy replied, her eyes staring directly into his.

Oh yeah. Getting back together was definitely her intention. But he didn't have to actually tell her he was taken, thanks to Miley opening the door at that particular moment.

Miley looked at the two of them in confusion. She wasn't fully awake yet, but she could still see the seductive way in which this unfamiliar girl was looking at her boyfriend. And she didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Uh, am I interrupting something?", she asked, being careful to avoid an accusatory tone.

"No, you're fine", Nick said quickly. He slipped his arm around her waist, and turned to Macy. "Macy, this is Miley. She's my girlfriend."

To his surprise, Macy didn't appear that stunned by his statement. She smiled, and extended her hand out to Miley. "Hi. I'm Macy. Nick's _ex_-girlfriend."

Miley's eyes widened a bit, as she wasn't really sure how to respond to that. The other girl appeared nice. But she also appeared sneaky. Like she had an agenda. However, Miley decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, and she shook the girl's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Macy."

* * *

The other girl didn't stick around very long, but she had peaked Miley's curiousity...and reminded her of her insecurities. Nick had never talked in depth about one particular ex-girlfriend. In fact, he rarely spoke of an ex at all. And she certainly didn't want to think about Nick with any other girl. But when they went out to eat lunch that day, she couldn't help herself.

"So, this Macy girl...how long did you date?", she asked as casually as she could manage.

But Nick could see that she was thinking very deeply about that morning's incident. "Seriously? Uh, probably about a year", he answered. "But I'm completely over her. If that's what you're worried about."

Miley fiddled with her straw. "I don't know. I mean, she's really pretty. And the way she was looking at you..."

He reached his hands across the table, and she reluctantly placed hers in them. "Miley, it doesn't matter how she looks at me. Or how pretty she is. Which is not up to your level by the way. You are the one that I love. You're the one that I want to be with."

She smiled, the assurance of his love making her feel much better. "I know that. I should've never doubted the way you feel about me."

"No, you shouldn't have", he agreed in a teasing tone. "But that's okay."

"Hey, guys!"

They turned to see Joe and Lilly approaching them with Belle and Myles running ahead to them.

"There's my baby girl!", Miley grinned as Belle wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Did you and Aunt Miley have a good date?", Myles asked excitedly, plopping down in the seat next to his uncle. "It lasted an awful long time."

Nick laughed. "Yes, we had a great time. But shouldn't you two be in school?", he wondered, looking up at Lilly and Joe.

"They got out early today", Lilly informed him as she and Joe took the last two spots at the table. "And of course, the first order of business was food because they had sloppy joes in the cafeteria."

"Ugh, say no more", Miley said, wrinkling her nose.

"Hey Belle, why don't you tell your mom what happened at school today?", Joe suggested, causing the little girl to smile.

"Mommy, I'm getting married!"

Miley almost choked on her water. "What?"

Lilly laughed. "Apparently, your daughter accepted Anthony Oken's romantic marriage proposal on the swingset at recess."

"Oken? Wait, like Oliver?"

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know. But how cool would it be if it was? I haven't seen Oliver in forever."

"Me either. I would love to see him again", Miley remarked before turning her attention to Belle. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to go for you getting married for at least fifteen years, little miss."

"But that's so long!", Belle protested in a dramatic fashion. She could certainly be a real drama queen when she wanted to.

"Aw, it's not so long", Nick pointed out. "We'll talk about you marrying Anthony when you get older, but we want to have you to ourselves for a little bit longer."

The little girl decided she could live with that. "Okay. But I don't have to wait fifteen years for you and mommy to get married, do I?"

Everyone laughed, but Miley decided that she would really have to talk to her daughter about what questions were appropriate to ask Nick. Sure, things were good between them, but she didn't want to jinx it by thinking about marriage just yet. Though she had to admit, she loved the idea of becoming Mrs. Nicholas Lucas someday.

* * *

Nick loved this girl. He really, really loved this girl. Because there is no way that he would sit through two and a half hours and counting of Gone with the Wind if he didn't. He glanced at his brother who was trying not to fall asleep, while Lilly was wiping tears from her eyes. Next to him, Miley was doing the same. See, these movie nights with the four of them were usually pretty fun. Except when Lilly and Miley got to pick what they watched. Then, they always ended with the girls crying, which made their heads hurt, which resulted in him and Joe going to Wal-Mart at midnight for Tylenol.

"Joe, wake up!", he heard Lilly insist. He could see her shaking him out of the corner of his eye, and couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm awake", Joe grumbled. "I was just resting my eyes."

"Well, you can't rest your eyes during the best part!"

"This is the best part?", Nick groaned, sincerely hoping that she wasn't serious. "Nothing has been interesting to me for this entire movie."

"Yeah, me either", Joe agreed. "We don't make you guys sit through stuff like this."

Lilly looked at her husband like he was crazy. "You made us sit through all the Saw movies! That's ten times worse!"

"That's true", Miley chimed in, looking at Nick. "That was pretty bad."

"Those movies were not even scary", Joe scoffed.

"No, but they were bloody and weird and I had a nightmare about that creepy old man! I highly doubt that you have a nightmare about this!", Lilly pointed out, motioning to the TV screen.

Miley cracked a hint of a smile. "I think what Lilly is trying to say is that while Saw was very entertaining, it had no real plot. This is one of the greatest love stories of all time."

"It did so have a plot!", Joe argued. "It's about a demented dying guy who wants to teach people the value of life!"

Nick nodded in agreement. "And how can this be considered a love story when they don't even end up together?"

Lilly rolled her eyes. "So? Most great love stories have tragic endings."

Joe shook his head. "But that doesn't make any sense!"

"It does make sense!"

"No, it doesn't!"

While her friends were having their daily spat about something completely pointless, Miley grabbed Nick's hand and led him quietly into the kitchen. At that point, they both started laughing.

"It's really a good thing they've both got a sense of humor, or they would've never made it this long", Nick remarked.

"Oh, yeah. They definitely keep things interesting", Miley agreed, grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "The next Rhett and Scarlett."

"Them?", he joked, motioning to the other room. "I think that fits us a little better. Except you aren't nearly as annoying as Scarlett."

She set her bottle of water on the counter, and gave him her best seductive smile. Pinned against the counter, he had no escape. And he didn't want one. Her lips were so close to his, he could almost taste them. But as he went to kiss her, she suddenly pulled away.

"What did you do that for?", he asked, clearly confused.

"Still don't think I'm as annoying as Scarlett?"

"Well, I guess you have your moments", he conceded as he ran his fingers through her hair. She smiled, and brushed her lips passionately against his.

"I love you", she said softly after they broke apart. "It feels so good to be able to say it now."

"Yeah, well, I love you more", he said playfully.

She laughed, sensing where this was headed. "Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

* * *

Macy didn't like this. She wasn't the type of person who schemed to break up people. At least, not before now. She still loved Nick. She had always loved Nick. But he was obviously in love with this Miley girl. She had seen the way that he looked at her. And in any other circumstance, she would've walked away.

But she had gotten an offer that she simply couldn't refuse. Her financial difficulties had been growing more severe by the day, and she honestly thought she was going to end up on the streets. But then, like the answer to her prayers, this guy calls her and offers her $100,000 to break up her ex and his girlfriend. And so, she found herself in a shady, abandoned parking lot on the bad side of town in the middle of the night.

"It'll all be worth it", she whispered to herself. She would get the money, and if she was lucky, maybe she could even get Nick back.

A shiny silver car pulled up beside hers, sending chills up her spine. Reluctantly, she forced herself out of the car, and was greeted by a blond man wearing sunglasses. She had only met with him once before, and he was wearing them then too. Obviously to conceal his identity. Why else would someone wear them at night? This seemed shady on so many different levels.

"Did you meet with them?", the man asked sharply.

She nodded nervously. "Yes. I did what you asked."

He slipped an envelope into her hand. "Good. Here's the first five thousand. The more you do, the more you get. Understand?"

"I understand."

"And you know the next step?"

She nodded again. "Yes."

Macy tucked the envelope securely in her purse, knowing that she couldn't afford to lose it. By the time she looked up again, the man was leaving. And while she was having second thoughts about this whole thing, she had a feeling that this wasn't someone that she wanted to make angry. She was in too deep to get out now.

* * *

**And the plot thickens...lol. So if you liked it or have any suggestions for what should come next, drop me a comment and let me know! I love hearing what you guys think! **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys. I really appreciate them. This chapter's a little shorter than I wanted, but hopefully you'll like it anyway.**

* * *

Nick loved his sister-in-law as much as the next guy. Really, he did. But frankly, he didn't understand why he and Miley needed to be there when they found out what the baby was. But Lilly had insisted. She obviously loved having her best friend around for this pregnancy, since she couldn't be there when she was pregnant with Myles. And of course, Miley had insisted that Nick come along too.

So, it was a pretty crowded hospital room. Nick looked out the window as the doctors were talking to Lilly and Joe. He wasn't gonna lie. This was pretty boring. Miley seemed to be a lot more interested than he was. Then again, she was a woman.

He could see three small figures on the patio two stories below them. One was a small child obediently holding on to his father's arm. The other was an older girl who looked like she had too much sugar. Running all over the place while the dad tried to get her to settle down. Nick chuckled to himself. The things you see outside hospital windows. He chuckled again when he realized that would be Joe before too long.

"Nick, come here!", Miley breathed, capturing his attention from the family outside. He sighed, and made his way to her side. They were all staring at the baby's sonogram in wonder.

"So, that's my little nephew, huh?", Nick remarked, wrapping his arm around Miley's waist.

Joe and Lilly looked at the doctor, as if to ask if it was indeed a nephew.

"Would you two like to know what you're having?", she asked curiously, just to make sure that she didn't reveal anything if they didn't want to know.

They both nodded excitedly, but it was Miley who spoke. "Yes, they absolutely want to know. See, we have a bet on this", she informed the doctor, motioning to herself and Nick.

"If I win, we're dressing up as a hot dog and a milk carton for Halloween", Nick grinned. Everyone burst into laughter, even the doctor.

Miley rolled her eyes in amusement. "And if I win, we're dressing up as Superman and Lois Lane."

"You guys are actually gonna dress up for Halloween?", Joe asked, not entirely believing them. They nodded. "That is so not fair! Lilly never lets us dress up!"

"Okay, honey. You can dress up for Halloween. You can be Lex Luthor, so you can go trick-or-treating with Miley and Nick."

"We're not going trick-or-treating", Miley said as she and Nick laughed. "We volunteered to help out at the school for the Halloween carnival."

"Ohhhh. See, that makes more sense", Joe remarked. "Do they need anybody else?"

The doctor just chuckled, thinking it must be fun to be part of this family. "Well, Mr. Lucas", she said as she turned to Nick. "I think you might better be finding your red cape."

"Huh?"

"It's a girl?", Lilly asked, grinning widely.

The doctor nodded. "Congratulations, you two. You're having a baby girl."

Miley excitedly turned to Nick. "I told you!"

"Yeah yeah", he responded, though he couldn't suppress a smile himself. He looked at his brother, who looked shell-shocked. He patted Joe on the back. "Congrats, man. Looks like you're gonna have a daughter."

"Uh-huh", he replied, still in shock. He had really been counting on this baby being a boy because the idea of having a little girl terrified him. Belle was only in first grade and she had already been freakin' proposed to! He began to hyperventilate.

Lilly rolled her eyes in response to her husband. "Well, this is a lot different than when we found out Myles was a boy."

Miley giggled. "What is it about guys wanting to have boys? You can't be _that_ intimidated by girls."

"I think it boosts their ego to get to brag on their star quarterback son. But it just makes them want to pull their hair out when they have to keep the boys away from their homecoming queen daughter", Lilly commented. "All that stress is what contributes to premature baldness in men."

Joe looked even more freaked out by that possibility. "Oh, no. I am not going to go bald. We'll homeschool her first."

* * *

Nick heard his stomach growl as they were leaving the hospital room. He decided he would stop by the vending machine, and the others agreed to wait for him in the parking lot. As he began to slip coins into the slot, he heard the distinctive sound of a woman crying.

He turned to see a woman sitting on a bench a few feet away with her head buried in her hands. It wasn't really any of his business. But he couldn't help but be concerned for her.

"Excuse me?", he said softly, approaching her. "Are you okay?"

He gasped when she lifted her head up, and it was none other than Macy. This was getting kind of weird. She hadn't been back in town long, but it seemed like he was running into her everywhere. But at the hospital? What was she even doing here?

"Nick?", she said quietly. "Why are you here?"

"My sister-in-law had a doctor's appointment", he replied, reluctantly sitting down next to her. "What's wrong? You look really upset."

She shook her head, and looked back down. "It's nothing."

"No, it's not nothing. Come on, Macy. What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath, and then looked him in the eyes. "I'm sick. I'm really sick. And I'm really scared."

"What do you mean you're sick?", Nick asked gently.

"I have cancer", Macy whispered, letting a tear stream down her cheek.

"Cancer? But you're so young", he pointed out in disbelief. She looked perfectly healthy to him.

"Yeah, apparently breast cancer can happen in young women too", she sighed. "They said it was still early, so my chances of beating it are pretty favorable. But I'm scared. And I've never felt so alone in my entire life."

He didn't really know what to say. What do you say to someone who was just diagnosed with cancer? He just slowly put his arm around her, and let her cry on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay", he said softly. "You're going to be okay."

* * *

"Nick, are you okay?", Miley asked, noting how shaken he had seemed for the past few days. Like he was physically there but his mind was somewhere completely different.

He nodded, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "I'm fine, baby."

She sighed as he walked into the other room to unload the clothes from the dryer. Following him, she propped her body up against the wall and stared at him. "Why do I get the feeling that you're not fine?"

"Miley, I don't really want to talk about it."

"Well, you kind of have to. Because we don't keep secrets from each other, remember?", she reminded him.

"It's not even about us", Nick said as he continued to toss clothes into the basket.

"But whatever it's about is upsetting you. Please tell me. Maybe I can help."

"I doubt it", he replied, setting the basket onto the washing machine. Then, he looked at her. "My ex-girlfriend has cancer."

Miley's eyes widened. "You mean Macy?"

He nodded. "It's just kind of getting to me. I mean, I hate it for her. But the worst part was when I thought about how I would feel if it was you."

"Oh, Nick", she said softly, wrapping her arms around him.

He held onto her tightly. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"You'll never have to find out", she assured him, brushing her finger against his cheek. "Because I don't plan on going anywhere."

She slowly pulled away from his embrace, as pity for the other woman set in. "I can't imagine how scared she must be", Miley said sympathetically. "If that was me, I would be terrified."

And she would be. But more for Nick and Belle than for herself. She knew that it would leave a huge void if something were to happen to her. But now, she could take comfort in the fact that her daughter would have a home, even if she wasn't there. That used to be her biggest fear. That Jake would eventually kill her, and Belle would have no one.

"I don't think she really has anybody", Nick commented, running his fingers through his hair.

Miley gave him a faint smile, knowing what had to come next. "She has you. And she'll get through this with your help."

His expression reflected his surprise. "You want me to help Macy through this?"

"I do. Because she needs you right now. I know how it feels to be scared and alone, and you wish more than anything that you had someone to be there for you. She shouldn't have to go through this alone."

He couldn't help but smile at her selflessness. "You know she had the intention of getting back together with me when she came back to town", he reminded her.

"I know", she replied. "And I can't say I really blame her. You're one in a million, Superman."

"Well, so are you, Ms. Lane", he uttered, slowly pressing his lips to hers.

He made a mental note to thank God for her before he went to bed that night. Because she was truly a miracle. Everything that she had been through couldn't manage to harden her heart. She still thought about others before herself. He didn't know how she did it. But he prayed that he would never know how it felt to live a life without her.

* * *

**So, a hint for next chapter: It's time for Halloween! Will there be tricks or treats? Hmmm...**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate them!**

* * *

"Come on out, guys!", Lilly insisted playfully as Joe stood next to her with a video camera in his hand. There was no way that this night was going to be forgotten.

They could hear Miley and Nick bickering over who was going to make their entrance first before Myles intervened. "I'll go!"

The little boy walked into the living room excitedly, eager to show off his cowboy costume. He waved at the video camera, while Lilly and Joe cheered. Belle made her entrance next. She wore a poofy yellow dress and a brown wig. Princess Belle. That certainly made sense.

"Now, where's the superhero?", Joe asked in a loud, teasing tone.

"Oh, stop being a baby", they could hear Miley utter as she practically pushed Nick into the room. Everyone burst into laughter. Nick definitely made a good Superman. Miley had even fixed his hair to show that one random curl that the superhero had.

"This is not even fair", Nick complained to his girlfriend. "You don't have to wear a ridiculous costume."

"Uh, you wanted to be a hot dog, babe", Miley reminded him. "Which is way more ridiculous than my idea."

"But my idea entailed us looking ridiculous together", he pointed out.

"I don't think you look ridiculous, Uncle Nick", Myles said, even as he tried to hide a smile. They heard the doorbell ring, and Lilly walked out of the room to answer it.

Joe looked enviously at all their costumes. "Man, I wish I could go with you guys. You're going to have so much fun."

"We'll be sure to take plenty of pictures for you", Nick smiled, pulling Myles into one arm and Belle into the other. "Won't we, guys?"

"Lots and lots of pictures!", Belle agreed, her voice ringing with excitement.

"Hi, everybody."

They all turned to see Macy standing at the doorway in a blue ballroom gown with a silver sparkling headband. Miley forced a smile as everybody greeted "Cinderella." She had really made an effort to befriend the other girl, but she was just so distant with her. And then, it was like she was a completely different person with Nick.

She had to believe that she was doing the right thing. Even if there was a chance of Macy trying to steal Nick away from her. Though she doubted that Nick was the most pressing issue on the other girl's mind right now. Remembering that would make the time he spent with Macy more bearable for her. At least, she hoped it would.

"You're a pretty princess too", Belle said sweetly, looking up at Macy.

"Oh, thank you, sweetie. And you must be Belle. My goodness, she's even more pretty in person, Nick", Macy smiled. Then, her gaze shifted to the other child. "And this cute little cowboy must be Myles. Am I right, buddy?"

After receiving a shy nod from the child, Macy turned to Nick. "You know, it was really nice of you to invite me, but are you sure? You guys didn't just want this to be a family thing?"

The question was directed at Nick, but she glanced at Miley more than once. Miley decided that she should be the one to answer.

"Yeah, it's totally fine. And actually, we should be thanking you. There are a lot of kids that will be very happy that they get to have their picture taken with Cinderella now."

Lilly cast a slightly concerned look on her best friend. She was proud of Miley for being so nice to Nick's ex, who clearly still had a thing for him. But she couldn't help but feel like Miley and Nick were both making a big mistake by trusting Macy. Something about the girl didn't sit quite right with her.

* * *

"And after we leave, we get to go trick-or-treating?", Myles asked excitedly, holding onto Nick's hand as they walked around the school. He wasn't needed at the time being, though Miley was still working one of the games.

"That's right", he smiled at his nephew. "And then you guys get to get loads and loads of candy that is probably not very good for you."

The little boy gave him a thoughtful look. "Is that why daddy eats so much of my candy _every_ year?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, buddy. He's just looking out for you."

"Uncle Nick, look what I got!", Belle yelled proudly, running to show him a giant teddy bear that she had won. The thing was almost as big as she was. Macy was having a hard time keeping up with her, and finally caught up to them.

"Whoa, check out Princess Belle winning all these games", he grinned, lifting the child and her giant teddy bear into his arms. He looked at an exhausted Macy. "Sorry. Did she wear you out?"

"Oh no. I'm fine. We've been having fun, haven't we?", she remarked, smiling at the little girl.

Belle reluctantly nodded. This lady was pretty and nice. But she couldn't help but feel that something wasn't quite right about her.

"When can mommy come play games with us?", she wondered, looking at Nick.

"Just as soon as she gets done with her shift. You know how popular the cake walk is, kiddo."

"Uncle Nick, we haven't done the cake walk yet!", Myles exclaimed, shocked that they had forgotten something.

"Ah, well I guess we'll have to do that. Won't we, cowboy?", Nick replied, ruffling Myles' hair with his free hand.

"Yeah!"

Nick's gaze turned to Macy. "What do you say? You want to come play the cake walk with us, Cinderella?"

She reluctantly decided to decline. "That's okay. I think I'll just sit down for a minute while you guys are doing that. I'm kind of tired."

He nodded in an understanding manner. "Okay. Well, we'll be back in a few. Just as soon as we win us a cake. Right, kids?"

"Right!", they agreed in unison. She watched them walk down the hall, and headed for an empty bench. Before she felt a jerk on her arm, and she ended up in an empty, darker hallway.

She was confused for a moment, staring at a man that was wearing the exact same Superman costume as Nick. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen him before. But she was too furious to try and figure it out.

"Um, who exactly do you think you are?", Macy demanded, jerking her arm out of his grasp.

"I think I'm the one who's keeping you off the street", he replied coolly. "So, I would suggest not getting an attitude with me."

She gasped in shock, realizing this was the same man that she had met in that parking lot. Except his hair was black now. No doubt a wig to go along with the costume. And she was certain that it was no coincidence that his costume was the same as Nick's.

"What are you doing here?", she asked, looking around to make sure there were no people nearby.

"Can't a guy just go to a Halloween carnival without his motives being questioned?"

"Look, you don't need to check up on me. I've got this all under control. I just need a little time..."

"I'm not here to check up on you", he said, cutting her off. "I have full confidence that you'll keep up your end of the bargain. I'm here to keep mine."

Macy let out a deep sigh. "What are you talking about?"

He smirked. "You'll see soon enough. But you'll do well to remember...if I go down, so do you. Don't interfere."

With those ominous words, he walked away.

* * *

"Number 15!", Miley announced, reading the slip of paper in her hands. "Who's number 15?"

No one answered, and Nick chuckled. Lord, this kid didn't even realize what number he was standing on. "Hey, buddy", he said, nudging Myles. "Look down."

The little boy's eyes lit up when he realized that was his number. "It's me, Aunt Miley! It's me!", he yelled excitedly.

She grinned, and motioned to the table of desserts. "Well, pick you one out."

After Myles finally selected a chocolate cake, Miley took a short break to chat with them. "So, are you guys having fun so far?", she wondered, her gaze switching between the two kids.

They both nodded, and Nick smiled. "So, when are you going to be able to join us? Mine and Macy's shifts ended a long time ago."

Miley sighed. "Good question. Mrs. Watts is supposed to pick up my shift, and she's running a few minutes late. Hopefully, it won't be that much longer though."

"Uncle Nick, can we get balloon animals?", Myles asked, pointing across the hall.

Nick gave his girlfriend an exhausted smile. "I guess I'll see you in a few minutes", he said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Mommy, will you keep my teddy bear with you?", Belle wondered, holding the giant purple teddy bear out to her.

"Yeah, I guess so", she agreed, smiling as she watched them leave. But not thirty seconds after they left, she heard a distinctly familiar voice.

"Miley?"

A wide grin spread across her face, and she stood up to hug him. "Oliver!"

She couldn't have been happier to see her old friend. She hugged him so tightly, she was kind of scared that it might suffocate him. "I can't believe you're here!"

"I can't believe you're here! I haven't seen you in years! You look great!", he exclaimed.

"So do you!", Miley smiled. She took note of the little boy standing beside him that was a total Oliver mini-me. She bent down to his level. "And you must be Anthony. I hear you're pretty close to my daughter, Belle."

The little boy blushed, and Oliver's eyes widened. "So, you're Belle's mom, huh? Wow, that's crazy. So, how have you been? You and Jake still..."

"No", she replied quickly, cutting him off. "I'm actually staying with Lilly now. You should come by sometime. She would love to see you too. She would've came tonight, but she just wasn't up for it. She's going to have a baby in a few months, so she's tired a lot."

Oliver laughed. "I just can't see Lilly pregnant. But yeah, I'll have to come by sometime. I've really missed you guys."

Miley hugged him again. "I missed you too, Oliver."

* * *

Nick stood outside the room where the kids were standing in line, waiting to have balloon animals made. And it was quite a line. The whole town had to be at this darn Halloween carnival. He surveyed the steady stream of people going in all directions. Somewhere in the midst of that, he noticed Macy standing against the wall. She must have been by herself this entire time. He felt guilty for leaving her alone so long, considering she didn't know anyone here.

After sneaking a quick peek at the kids, who were still in line, he approached her. "Hey, sorry we took so long. Myles finally won a cake for us."

She gave him a faint smile. "That's good. I'm glad the kids are having fun. Halloween is supposed to be a fun holiday."

"You're not having fun?", he asked, though her demeanor obviously indicated that she wasn't.

"I don't know", Macy sighed. "It's just seeing all these happy families. It kind of makes me feel even more alone. It's crazy, I know. I guess I just wish that I had a family like all these other people. People that needed me and loved me."

"Well, you'll have one someday", Nick pointed out.

She shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just meant to be alone forever."

"Hey, don't think that way", he said, trying to lift up her spirits. "You're going to find your soulmate someday. You just have to believe that. And he will be a very lucky guy."

She smiled, and wrapped her arms around him. "And Miley's a lucky girl. You're amazing, Nick."

* * *

After the older woman finally arrived to take her shift, Miley made her way out into the hallway to see Macy's arms wrapped around her boyfriend, who looked like he was trying to pull away. Instances like these were really not helping the friendship that she was attempting to build with this girl.

"My shift's over", she announced, plastering a smile on her face as she approached them. Clearly surprised by her presence, Macy backed off of Nick.

"That's good", he remarked as Myles approached them with a balloon animal in his hand.

"Look what I got!", the little boy said, displaying it for them to see.

"Cool, dude", Nick smiled. "Where's Belle?"

Myles shrugged. "She was in line ahead of me. I got out of line to talk to Anthony, and they made me go to the back. But Belle was too nervous cause she likes Anthony. So, she stayed there."

Miley's expression reflected her concern. Nick's face mirrored hers. "No, I told you and Belle both to come back out here when you got your balloon animals", he reminded the little boy.

His nephew gave him a confused look. "But you were in there too. After Belle got her balloon animal, I saw you with her."

Now, he was beginning to get scared. "I haven't seen Belle since she got in that line", he murmured, walking a few feet away from them. He looked in every direction. He didn't see her anywhere.

"Nick...", Miley uttered, her voice strained with worry. "How could Myles have seen you with her if you weren't with her?"

He shook his head in confusion, and turned to his nephew. "Buddy, did you see Belle with someone who looked like me?"

Myles shrugged. "It was Superman. I thought it was you."

As both Miley and Nick began to search desperately for the little girl, they didn't notice the look of horror on Macy's face. She was beginning to realize exactly what was going on.

* * *

**Uh oh. So now Belle is missing. Another part of the plan? Let me know what you think.**


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